Facts about Nicaragua
Lifestyle
Nicaraguan dress - typical Nicaraguan dress is cotton pants and shirt for men and skirt with blouse for woman. In the cities most Nicaraguan dress as elegant as possible, while more casual dress is the norm for the beaches and mountains.
Nicaraguan dances - one of the real pleasures for the cultural visitor is the variety and popularity of Nicaraguan dances. Unlike many countries that only perform folkloric dances for nostalgia and anthropological studies, Nicaraguan dances are part of every day life for most Nicaraguans. In Masaya, for example, there are more than 100 folkloric dance companies, all performing the broad variety of traditional Nicaraguan dances. Most of the Nicaraguan dance styles are heavily influenced by the 297 year colonial Spanish period, though African and indigenous elements are present, especially in Nicaraguan dances from the Caribbean coast.
Nicaraguan art - Nicaraguan art is little known outside of Central America but is as vibrant as the Nicaraguan landscape. Art in Nicaragua is easy for the visitor to appreciate in such Nicaraguan art galleries such as the Galería Códice in Managua. Though most modern Nicaraguan art galleries are located in Managua, Granada and León also has galleries dedicated to display of Nicaraguan art.
Nicaraguan culture - Nicaraguan culture could be described as one of the most authentic mestizo cultures in all of Latin America. While many define culture as either highbrow European culture or ethnic indigenous traditions, Nicaraguan culture is a blend of the two worlds, a mixture that has lived for many years outside of the big cultural blender called globalization. The most obvious effect of the preservation of Nicaraguan culture for the visitor is the Nicaragua people's warm hospitality and great kitchen.
Nicaraguan history - Nicaraguan history is full of centuries of invasions, manipulations and infighting amongst domestic and international political and economic interests. Few who have interest in world issues will find Nicaraguan history anything less than fascinating.
Nicaraguan people - Nicaraguan people are with out a doubt the main asset of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan people are renowned across Central America for their warmth and hospitality. Though all countries have natural beauty that would impress any visitor it is the Nicaraguan people that leave the most lasting memory for many travelers.
Miskito Indians - Nicaragua is home to the majority of infamous Miskito Coast, home to the Miskito Indians, shared by southeastern Honduras. The Miskito Indians are thought to have originally been migrants from northern Colombia and eastern Venezuela, perhaps arriving about 4,000 years ago. Today's Miskito Indian is a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and indigenous cultures and the language of the Miskito Indians has a great number of English words adapted from the many years in which Great Britain was their trading partner.
Common Terms
Cacao - the raw fruit from which chocolate is made. The seeds of the fruit are dried and crushed. These are less common in Nicaragua since the war years from 1979-1989. When the Spanish arrived it was plentiful, especially in Rivas. The indigenous Nicaraguans used the fruit as their monetary unit.
Chocoyero - Nicaraguan for "place of many parakeets", a tiny tropical dry forest reserve with two cascades and a rich flora and fauna. The reserve is home to over 700 nests for Pacific green parakeets, known locally by their indigenous name Chocoyos. It is located just 40 minutes from downtown Managua.
Cocibolca - the most popular of one many supposed indigenous names for the body of water known today as Lake Nicaragua. Lake Nicaragua is Latin America's second largest lake and punctuated by more than 400 islands. Its waters drain via the San Juan River to the Caribbean Sea.
El Hipico - part of every patron saint festival, this is a parade of the horses carrying well dressed and heavy lubricated riders from around the province of the festival and countrywide.
Fresco - short for refresco and usually referring to freshly made fruit drinks which consist of the fruit, water and sugar.
Flor - flor is a key word for most visitors to Nicaragua. Not only is flor (Spanish for flower) visible in all parts of the country in its natural state and the name of Nicaragua's most famous turtle nesting site Playa La Flor, but the world's best rum, Flor de Caña is made in Nicaragua, comes in 7 flavors, aged up to 21 years. Flor de Caña means Flower of the Cane, a long willowy flower that tops the sugar cane shortly before it is ready to be harvested.
Guapote - A native large-mouth lake bass, found in ponds and lakes all over Nicaragua. This is perhaps the finest fish to eat in Nicaragua, usually fried whole and drenched in tomatoes and onions.
La Purisima - also known as La Gritería. A religious tradition unique to Nicaragua used to pay tribute to the Virgin Mary. Believers ask for assistance from Santa María and in thanks build small altars in front of or just inside their homes on the 7th of December. Roaming groups of worshipers visits the numerous makeshift alters singing songs to the Virgin and receiving small gifts of food in return. The festival in León from the early 18th century and is now celebrated countrywide.
Mar - Spanish for sea and although the Pacific is an ocean, most Nicaraguans refer to both bodies of waters: the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean as mar. In fact it has been said that Nicaragua is pleased with three seas. As the great Lake Nicaragua was called by the Spanish El Mar Dulce or the fresh water sea.
Nacatamal - a traditional Nicaragua dish eaten at any time of day, though more readily available Friday-Sunday in cities. Normally made of pork (though chicken is also used), rice, corn meal and sweet peppers, then wrapped in a big plantain leaf and boiled.
Nicaraos - popular term used to describe the wealthiest and most developed indigenous culture at the arrival of the first Spanish explorers in 1523. Now more frequently referred to as Nicaraguas, they were named after the royal chief Niqueragua, whose subjects populated the isthmus between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, today's province of Rivas, Nicaragua.
Pueblos Blancos - Spanish for "White Villages" most of the homes are actually painted in bright colors. Also called Los Pueblos de la Meseta or Mesa Villages. Most of these precious colonial period villages were built on top of important Chorotega Indian settlements. They are located in the provinces of Masaya, Carazo and Granada and are famous for their superb handicrafts.
Selva Negra - Spanish for black forest, a private organic coffee plantation, cloud forest reserve and hotel owned and operated by descendants of German immigrants. The reserve is home to howler monkeys and a rich bird life.
Aninmals
Nicaraguan animals - Nicaragua is home to many endangered species of animals, such jungle wildlife as howler, white faced and spider monkeys, jaguar, giant anteaters, crocodiles, toucans, parrots are examples, as well as a rainbow of orchid and butterflies. Being located right in the heart of the tropics at between 11°-15° north of the equator means that the jungle wildlife and Nicaraguan animals are numerous and diverse.
White-faced monkey - mono carablanca in Spanish. This curious, intelligent monkey is found in many of the nature reserves of Nicaragua. It is most famous as "the organ-grinder monkey" and is still a very popular pet in Nicaragua. They can be spotted around the San Ramón cascade on Ometepe Island, along the river banks of the Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge and inside the Indio-Maíz Biological Reserve.
Forests
Dry Tropical Forest - this very unique eco-system includes many beautiful flowering trees. The plant life must be able to withstand 6-7 months of hard tropical rains and then 5-6 months of almost no rain at all. Good examples are the Nicaraguan nature reserves of Chocoyero and Montibelli.
Gallery Forest - so called for its great wildlife viewing qualities. The gallery is a line of trees, often growing out of sediment build up along river banks. Behind this line of trees is wetlands that do not support forest. The river bank trees are well lit and wildlife relatively easy to spot.
Cloud Forest - a broad term for forest above 1,000 meters in the tropics that is often draped in clouds and is usually very diverse due to altitude variations that create specific micro-systems at each altitude. Good example is the forest reserve on the Mombacho Volcano.
People in History
William Walker - 19th century North American lawyer/journalist turned adventurer who sought to expand the pre-civil war United States into Central America by setting up a slave state in Nicaragua. He invaded with a small but well armed force in October of 1855, named himself president of Nicaragua in July of 1856, but only held control of Granada and other select parts of Nicaragua briefly before being expelled by combined Central American armies in early 1857. The first Nicaraguan victory of against Walker's army occurred on the 14th of September 1856 and is celebrated annually as a national holiday.
Mark Twain - legendary writer/humorist who traveled across Nicaragua at the end of 1866 on the way from San Francisco to New York, his views on Nicaragua and the Vanderbilt steamship line that provided the journey are recorded in the book, Travels with Mr. Brown. Twain was particularly impressed with the beauty of the Nicaraguan people, the Island of Ometepe and the San Juan River.
Rubén Darío - founder of the modernist movement that rejuvenated Spanish prose and poetry at the end of the 19th century. A child prodigy who began writing poetry at 11 years old and is now remembered as Nicaragua's greatest national hero. He has a small village named after him in the province of Matagalpa where he was born, but spent his childhood years in Leon where his house is now a museum.
Francisco Hernández de Córdoba - the Spanish military captain who defeated indigenous armies and established León and Granada in 1524. The monetary unit of Nicaragua carries his name. He was beheaded in 1526 in the Plaza Mayor of León Viejo due to suspected plotting against Nicaragua's first governor.
Augusto César Sandino - one of Nicaragua's biggest heroes, Sandino was a nationalist and early opponent of globalization. He became the namesake for the FSLN, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, Sandinista National Liberation Front. Augusto Sandino was a Liberal Party general who fought a guerilla war in the northern mountains against the occupation of Nicaragua by the US Marines from 1927-1933. He signed a peace treaty with the Nicaraguan government soon after withdrawal of the Marines, one year after signing the treaty he was abducted and killed in Managua.
Daniel Ortega - the new president of Nicaragua is a unique historical figure. The leader of the FSLN (Front Sandinista for Liberation National) in Nicaragua, he started his political life in the underground movement to dethrone the Somoza family dynasty rule in Nicaragua, which came to fruit in 1979. He was the leader of Nicaragua's Sandinista government from 1979-1990, becoming a player in the cold war struggle between the US and the Soviet eastern block. Defeated in the 1990 Nicaragua presidential elections, Daniel Ortega stayed on as the leader of the FSLN political organization and participated in the elections of 1996 and 2001. Daniel Ortega finally won back the Nicaragua presidential seat during the 2006 presidential elections, taking 38% of the vote. Daniel Ortega has promised to continue with Nicaragua's recent economic success with free-market policies, while at the same time trying to improve the life Nicaragua's poor majority.
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