Day 3
After wandering the sun-kissed streets of Leon by morning, I made my way to the Museum of the Revolution, which celebrates the Sandinista uprising that toppled the Somoza family dictatorship in 1979. The building’s broken windows, chipped paint, and crumbling walls quickly transported me to a time when the smoothie shop just down the street was unimaginable.
This museum, which unlike Leon’s many other sleek tourist attractions continues to look battered and abandoned, is in a building that was a military and communications base for the Somoza regime before Sandinista guerrillas overran it.
It features fading photographs, newspaper clippings, and painted murals commemorating Sandinista soldiers who fought in the war. One of them conveniently happens to be my father’s cousin. He and several other veterans now serve as a tour guides at the museum, welcoming curious tourists who are looking for more than the sweet taste of a tropical paradise. This decaying building, now converted into a museum, reminds visitors that Nicaragua is not simply the “new Costa Rica.” It is a country still recovering from blood-draining wars of the recent past.
Day 6
Things cool down when it gets dark in Leon, making it the perfect time to play for everyone in this town. The lion statues stationed in front of Leon’s grand Cathedral transform from gate-keepers to beloved pets. Children can be seen eagerly climbing the statues, riding them like their own ponies.
Last Thursday night, people came out to watch a fashion competition in which boys in their early 20s dressed in Barbie Ken outfits. Strutting down the runway on a street surrounded by spectators of all ages and backgrounds, they wore loafers, tinted sun-glasses, and polo shirts. Their sleek hair shone underneath the beaming stage lights as a popular American song “Uptown Funk” played loudly on the speakers. Even in Nicaragua, United States pop music dominates the scene from time to time.
Before the show, folkloric, stilt, and break dancing performances entertained a large crowd of over 300 people. Private vendors sold quick but savory Nicaraguan treats like fresh plantain chips, sugar candies called Cajetas, and a variety of fruit drinks. The country’s iconic brand of rum, Flor De Cana, also sold beverages at a bar stationed near the curb. The company has been commercializing “Macua” as the country’s national drink, made with orange juice, guava juice, and Flor de Cana Extra Lite.
A smaller group of people gather around two large telescopes placed near the Cathedral’s entrance. The “Association of Astronomers and Aficionados” recently celebrated their one year anniversary as the first and only astronomy club of its kind in the country.
A third of the co-founders, Orlando Chaves Ezquivel says that his grandfather taught him about “eclipses, shooting stars, and asteroids” when he was young and ever since has been fascinated by astronomy.
He says that Nicaraguans are curious about “lo más alla.” And what’s more foreign than outer space? His club, like many other unexpected artists, performers, and musicians of the town shape Leon’s vivid spirit.
Teaching its people to reach for the stars, the city’s motto, “Viva Leon Jodido!” — Long Live Messed-Up Leon — rings especially true when the moon comes out on nights like these.
Day 7
As we prepare to leave Leon, the air feels fresher and lighter than it has in the past few days. The city feels breezy as it anticipates next week’s celebration of Holy Week. The streets are decorated with purple flags symbolizing Catholicism. Many people wear something purple.
Celebratory firecrackers can be heard during breakfast time. Last night, religious processions filled the streets. Leading one of them, a dozen men carried illuminated figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on their shoulders. The statues read “Take your cross” on the front and “Come and follow” on the back.
The religious event overwhelms me with cloud of melancholia as the crowd slowly paces from one corner to the next. The accompanying music sounds like a dirge. Long and heavy dissonant notes emerge from large brass instruments.
Time seems to slow down in Leon, but this is only a pause before the city explodes into a whirling week of festivities.