Paraguayan folk music is performed extensively across the entire country. The music is commonly found on television and the radio, with laws requiring that a certain amount of music played on the radio is Paraguayan folk music, and is ubiquitous at festivals across the country. It is typically performed by small bands of two or three people that tend to be local residents, as guitarists, singers, and harpists are extremely common in all parts of the country. 

 

Occasions for Paraguayan folk music to be played are numerous. I actually played tuba in a Paraguayan folk band while I was living there, and we had numerous gigs every single week. Among these opportunities to play are at Paraguayan steakhouses (parrilladas), a very traditional Paraguayan ranch-style restaurant; patron saint festivals; municipal festivals, which typically take place annually on the anniversary of a city's founding; quinceañeras; birthday parties; and wakes (Watkins, 2000). The music is heavily participatory, with clapping along to the beat almost mandatory and dancing to the songs is more common than not, with participants ranging from professional dancers to local teenagers to older couples.

An example of a typical Paraguayan barbecue (asado). This type of food is typically served at large social events taking place on weekends where Paraguayan folk music is also common.