¡Viva Nicaragua Libre!
By Julia Wellham
This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for a six week study abroad program. One of the more interesting cultural experiences for me was being in León during the celebration of the Revolution.
This July 19 marked the 38th anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution, which ended in 1979 when the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) successfully overthrew the oppressive Somoza dictatorship/dynasty. It was followed by the 10 year Contra War between the Sandinistas and US backed counter-revolutionaries. It was an incredibly brutal and bloody time.
This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for a six week study abroad program. One of the more interesting cultural experiences for me was being in León during the celebration of the Revolution.
This July 19 marked the 38th anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution, which ended in 1979 when the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) successfully overthrew the oppressive Somoza dictatorship/dynasty. It was followed by the 10 year Contra War between the Sandinistas and US backed counter-revolutionaries. It was an incredibly brutal and bloody time.
Most of Nicaragua supported the Sandinistas, and there has been a lot of anger over US imperialism. Many still resent past US interventions as well as current endeavors such as the Nica Act. However, their anger towards and mistrust of the United States does not seem to extend to Americans themselves (at least not average citizens like us).
It was a new experience for me to have someone hate a country, a government, but not the people, for someone to look at a shared history and be able to separate a country into the government and its citizens and to be able to look at an individual without blaming them for their government’s actions. This is not something that many Americans seem to know how to do.
Not only were we warmly welcomed, we were even invited to participate in the jubilation. On July 18, the eve of the anniversary of the revolution, one of our host families threw a party for us. They had specifically chosen the day because they wanted us to join in their celebration. Even though it was supposed to be a potluck they prepared a lavish spread of food, and we talked and sang karaoke.
That weekend events were held to honor the four student martyrs whose deaths marked some of the first casualties in the fight against Somoza. On Saturday a few of us went to the reenactment across from the university. The streets were decked out with colorful streamers and crowded with people. On one end of the street stood a group of students and at the other end stood the army (not the real army). The students would shout their protests, then the soldiers would chase them and then retreat. Occasionally they would capture a student and “beat him up”. This whole process was repeated over and over sometimes with really long breaks in between. We stayed for two hours but never saw the finale because we got hungry and decided to get dinner.
All in all it was an enlightening week. I really enjoyed getting to learn about Nicaragua’s history while in their country, to hear firsthand stories from the war, and to witness the people’s celebration of freedom. ¡Viva Nicaragua libre!
It was a new experience for me to have someone hate a country, a government, but not the people, for someone to look at a shared history and be able to separate a country into the government and its citizens and to be able to look at an individual without blaming them for their government’s actions. This is not something that many Americans seem to know how to do.
Not only were we warmly welcomed, we were even invited to participate in the jubilation. On July 18, the eve of the anniversary of the revolution, one of our host families threw a party for us. They had specifically chosen the day because they wanted us to join in their celebration. Even though it was supposed to be a potluck they prepared a lavish spread of food, and we talked and sang karaoke.
That weekend events were held to honor the four student martyrs whose deaths marked some of the first casualties in the fight against Somoza. On Saturday a few of us went to the reenactment across from the university. The streets were decked out with colorful streamers and crowded with people. On one end of the street stood a group of students and at the other end stood the army (not the real army). The students would shout their protests, then the soldiers would chase them and then retreat. Occasionally they would capture a student and “beat him up”. This whole process was repeated over and over sometimes with really long breaks in between. We stayed for two hours but never saw the finale because we got hungry and decided to get dinner.All in all it was an enlightening week. I really enjoyed getting to learn about Nicaragua’s history while in their country, to hear firsthand stories from the war, and to witness the people’s celebration of freedom. ¡Viva Nicaragua libre!
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