When you return from the Sugarloaf Mountain cable car, take a few minutes to visit General Tibúrcio Square (if for no other reason than to send photos to your friends back home). In the center of the plaza is the Monument to the Heroes of Laguna and Dourados. This is a tribute to 3,000 Brazilian soldiers who marched over 1,200 miles in 1867 to engage their advisories during the War of Paraguay (1864 – 1870). Only 700 men returned home. The gallant mission is called Retreat of the Laguna. Surrounding the 52 foot granite column are sculptures by Antonino Pinto de Matos depicting scenes of this historic event. An underground crypt contains ashes of some fallen heroes.
