Petroglyphs in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

The Apoyo Volcano exploded in what may have been the most powerful of all the volcanic blasts of the quaternary epoch in Central America, around 23,000 years ago. No humans were around to see it, however, as the first direct or indirect evidence of humans in the area seems to be less than 15,000 years old. We can imagine the awe of the first people to look down into the lake seated at the bottom of the crater. Although the name "Apoyo" matches a Spanish-language word, it actually is a precolombian toponym referring to clear water.

We know nothing of the message or messengers who inscribed on the rocks in Laguna de Apoyo. Photo Pablo Somarriba.

The precolombian people of the region around Apoyo, particularly on the sides of the Pueblos Blancos to the west, and Masaya to the north, did not die out or migrate away. Precolombian roots are seen in the faces and the traditions of the area. Furthermore, in Masaya and a few other areas, some people maintain official indigenous representation, according to registrations with the government from more than a century ago. The precolombian culture was largely erradicated by the Spanish conquest, but these relics give silent testimony to a society that still lives.

Indigenous people of the area left etchinngs in several rocks in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. Photo Pablo Somarriba. 

Students at Apoyo Spanish School can visit the petroglyphs found in different locations near us. The messages have not been deciphered, so each person can imagine and hypothesize about the meanings behind each etching. Some are small, others are a few meters wide. The centuries have passed since these designs and messages were left behind, but thankfully, we are still able to enjoy them.

Possibly an Insect? Turtle?   Photo Pablo Somarriba.

The hundreds of years of separation from their prior society has left the native Nicaraguans of this area disconnected from the reasons, language, and messages behind these treasures. Someday, hopefully, there could be a rescue of these petroglyphs for the benefit of the people who continue to live in the area. It is no surprise that many petroglyphs are found here, because of the abundance of rock and the marvelous place that is the interior of the Apoyo crater.

Students of Apoyo Spanish School sit above a large petroglyph in the Apoyo crater. Photo Andras Dorgai

There are a few nice walks on public-access trails in the crater that pass by petroglyphs. These walks can combine great views of landscapes, birds, monkeys, the incredible diversity of plants, and these relics from another era.  Some of the trails lead to communities along the edge of the crater, so a walk could terminate with a nice beverage while looking across the lake.

This petroglyph has been carved on the top of a flat bedrock. Photo Andras Dorgai.

If you would like to make a hike to see petroglyphs, please contact us. We would love to take you for a hike that can combine birds, monkeys, useful plants, petroglyphs, and majestic views.

A petroglyph in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. Photo Andras Dorgai.

Chilling imagery left behind by the precolombian ancestors in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. Photo Andras Dorgai.

A spooky petroglyph with ann oddity behind. Photo Andras Dorgai.

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Romance Sonámbulo (Federico Garcia Lorca)

Verde que te quiero verde

Verde viento. Verdes ramas.

El barco sobre la mar

y el caballo en la montaña.

Con la sombra en la cintura

ella sueña en su baranda,

verde carne, pelo verde,

con ojos de fría plata.

Verde que te quiero verde.

Bajo la luna gitana,

las cosas la están mirando

y ella no puede mirarlas.

Verde que te quiero verde,

Grandes estrellas de escarcha,

vienen con el pez de sombra

que abre el camino del alba.

La higuera frota su viento 

con la lija de sus ramas,

y el monte, gato garduño,

eriza sus pitas agrias.

¿Pero quién vendrá? ¿Y por dónde?

Ella sigue en su baranda,

verde carne, pelo verde,

soñando en la mar amarga.

--Compadre, quiero cambiar

mi caballo por su casa,

mi montura por su espejo,

mi cuchillo por su manta.

Compadre, vengo sangrando,

desde los puertos de Cabra.

--Si yo pudiera, mocito,

este trato se cerraba.

Pero yo ya no soy yo,

ni mi casa es ya mi casa.

--Compadre, quiero morir,

decentemente en mi cama.

De acero, si puede ser,

con las sábanas de holanda.

¿No ves la herida que tengo

desde el pecho a la garganta?

--Trescientas rosas morenas

lleva tu pechera blanca.

Tu sangre rezuma y huele

alrededor de tu faja.

Pero yo ya no soy yo,

ni mi casa es ya mi casa.

--Dejadme subir al menos

hasta las altas barandas,

¡dejadme subir!, dejadme

hasta las verdes barandas.

Barandales de la luna

por donde retumba el agua.

Ya suben los dos compadres

hacia las altas barandas.

Dejando un rastro de sangre.

Dejando un rastro de lágrimas.

Temblaban en los tejados

farolillos de hojalata.

Mil panderos de cristal

herían la madrugada.

Verde que te quiero verde,

verde viento, verdes ramas.

Los dos compadres subieron.

El largo viento dejaba

en la boca un raro gusto

de hiel, de menta y de albahaca.

--¡Compadre! ¿Dónde está, dime?

¿Dónde está tu niña amarga?

¡Cuántas veces te esperó!

¡Cuántas veces te esperara,

cara fresca, negro pelo,

en esta verde baranda!

Sobre el rostro del aljibe

se mecía la gitana.

Verde carne, pelo verde,

con ojos de fría plata.

Un carámbano de luna

la sostiene sobre el agua.

La noche se puso íntima

como una pequeña plaza.

Guardias civiles borrachos

en la puerta golpeaban. 

Verde que te quiero verde,

verde viento, verdes ramas.

El barco sobre la mar.

Y el caballo en la montaña. 

With gratitude to Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936), martyr during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

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movies about Nicaragua

Much of Nicaragua's cultural and political history is captured in the cameras of diverse filmmakers through the years. Here we present another set of films that tell stories new and old. Please let us know which films you like, and why! 

Nicaragua-A Nation's Right to Survive. This 1983 documentary directed by John Pilger presents the difficulties facing the young, revolutionary Nicaragua, crippled by aggression from the superpower to the North. "The issue is that the United States has no right to invade and humiliate a small country" (A. C. Sandino). This film includes footage of US biplanes in attacks on Ocotal, where the first aerial bombing in the world was conducted in 1926-before the Spanish massacre at Guernica.

Land  "Next time you pack your sunscreen bring your gun". A documentary video about the housing development boom on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast. If you are thinking of buying property in Nicaragua, see this first. Directed by Julian Pinder, is available on Torrents.

Pictures from a Revolution by Susan Meiselas. "PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION is also a smart, unvarnished tale of the evolution of images as they run headlong into popular culture and political agendas". 

The Mosquito Coast, based on the book by Paul Theroux, tells a Gulliveresque story set on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. Starring Harrison Ford as a dreamer wanting to change the Nicaraguans, only he still does not even know them. 

Nicaragua: An Unfinished Revolution presents social and political issues facing the Sandinistas in their second chance at social transformation in Nicaragua. This video, produced by Al-Jazeera, is presented below.

No Pasaran, a film by the Australian filmmaker David Bradbury, covers the history of Nicaragua from the construction of the Somoza dynasty until the Nicaraguan Sandinista Revolution. 

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The Laguna de Apoyo Movie List

Nicaragua's rich socio-political history is the stuff of movies, and some good ones have come from it. Here we present our list, movies that lovers of Nicaragua should see. Let´s go to the movies!

1. Carla's Song (1996)
A Nicaraguan woman carries the scars of war with her to Glasgow, where she meets a man who helps her face her past and return to her country and love. Set during the contra war in revolutionary Nicaragua. Directed by Ken Loach.

Carla's Song Trailer

2. Alsino and the Condor (1983)
Best Foreign Film Academy Award 1983
Alsino dreams of flying. and his village is visited by aircraft raining destruction. An analogy for the apologists of fascism in its many rebirths throughout Latin America. Directed by Miguel Littin.

3. Walker (1987) Directed by Alex Cox
William Walker was a good man gone bad. As he sank morally, he dragged a nation downward with him. Ed Harris plays the lead role brilliantly, in a cleverly constructed retelling of the first US citizen president of Nicaragua. This movie portrays the Walker experience with broad artistic license. Music by Joe Strummer from The Clash.

Walker-Trailer

3. Under Fire (1983)
Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman are seasoned war reporters, documenting the insurrection against the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua. Based loosely on the assassination of ABC reporter Bill Stewart in 1979. Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith.

5. La Yuma (2009)
Two sports shine in Nicaragua: Baseball, and boxing. A most unlikely boxing film - about a woman boxer. Directed by Florence Jaguey.

La Yuma (The complete film)

La Yuma-trailer

What is your favorite film about Nicaragua? Please let us know. If we have not included it here, we would like to see it and share your interest with others, too.
Estacion Biologica FUNDECI/GAIA sponsors and operates the Laguna de Apoyo Spanish Language School. We have the oldest "study Spanish abroad" program in Nicaragua. Please visit us when you are in Laguna de Apoyo.

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Sandino The Movie

The most iconic figure in the history of Nicaragua is Augusto C. Sandino. The illegitimate child of a poor servant girl, a self-made man, and emphatic defender of sovereignty, was betrayed and killed ignominiously when he opted to negotiate for peace. His death launched a single-family dynasty which, not coincidentally, ended at the hands of a new generation of rebels who adopted his name for their movement.

Miguel Littin, a Chilean leftist filmmaker, undertook the auspicious project of tracing the remarkable life of Sandino on film. The result is presented here, broken into parts of about 10 minutes each. This film receives our highest recommendation, because it tells one of the great stories which define why Nicaragua is so special. One can't know Nicaragua, its history, society and culture, without understanding Sandino, and one can't understand Sandino without loving Nicaragua. Patria libre o muerte!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

The Spanish courses offered at Estacion Biologica include a historical perspective and legacy of Augusto Cesar Sandino in today's Nicaragua. The modern term sandinista incorporates concepts of struggle, social justice, sovereignty and national dignity, and a rich history has been played out in which the term has been applied. The term holds both political and broad cultural connotations today in Nicaragua, and our Spanish teachers have personal experience in these concepts, to make your Spanish training directed toward the circumstances found in Nicaragua.

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Revolutionary Music-Nicaraguan Concert for Peace 1983-video

The year was 1983. The cause was the Nicaraguan "contra" civil war, seen from within as attacks from outside. Sandinista Nicaragua faced a formidable enemy in the United States, the byword was defiance. Music was the medium. The event was the Concert for Peace, held in Managua, free to all, with musicians from throughout the continent. As this event demonstrated, the Nicaraguan Revolution meant something very special troughout the world. Among the performers in this video: Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy, Carlos Mejia Godoy, Amparo Ochoa, Adrian Goizueta, Mercedes Sosa, Silvio Rodriguez. Music and Revolution were the theme. 

It's to wake up and break the muzzle and chains,

It's to conjugate and feel the verb “love” without limits,

It's to get the moon to give us its bread and a kiss

When we free the earth of what imprisons our dreams.

It's to write in the people's book with blood and fire,

The names of the anonymous sowers of this field.

It's to talk of hope And the love that costs us

It's to make grow in the womb of history our footprints

It's the reason of the language of man and his freedom,

That, even if he has to kill, love is his objective

That the animal heart of an imperfect man,

Like a bird flying toward love, takes flight to make a nest in your breast.

This is why I must conclude before my guitar sleeps

That no blow is fatal if you don't fear death

That to stay awake while guarding the trenches

Is the task of one to love even in time of war.

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Spanish study in small groups in Nicaragua

Although most of our Spanish language instruction is performed one-on-one at Apoyo Spanish School, we often handle groups for Spanish classes, volunteer work, and environmental and cultural training at Estacion Biologica. The Laguna de Apoyo Spanish Language School is the oldest in Nicaragua. Here are some images from a recent group from a school in San Francisco, California. This group studied Spanish with our local teachers, participated in reforestation activities, and participated with our volunteers in mist netting of birds, a practice we use to monitor bird populations in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. They also went tarantula-watching one evening-although many were deathly afraid of them beforehand, afterward, they all felt better about them! And they participated in some discussions about the environment and social conditions in Nicaragua with members of our staff at FUNDECI/GAIA.

The shade of tall trees makes the best stting for Spanish study. Miss Mariposa, Aura is a language professor and also an expert at birds and moths and butterflies. She will gladly take you birdwatching. She participates in several research projects at Estacion Biologica. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

The young people enjoyed a swim at the beach in front of Estacion Biologica after Spanish classes. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

A mango provides refreshing shade from the midday sun for these students, who are practicing diction. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.  

Our ample yard at Estacion Biologica is in front of the lake for a fast entry once classes are over! Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

As can be seen on the left in this picture, we often have campers at Estacion Biologica. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

Our volunteer, Soren, is explaining how we use mist nets to study birds to the group of Spanish students in an after-class activity.  Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

Soren is responding to questions about bird study and conservation. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

A Spanish student learns to hold a captured bird during a mist-netting demonstration for the group. This individual is a female Great-tailed Grackle. This species is present where human activity is intense, such as yards of homes. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

Spanish students and their teachers are enjoying a relaxing moment before dinner at Estacion Biologica. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

After Spanish class, students joke around with Lorenzo. Photo by Stephan Beekhuis.

We are happy to provide experiences in Spanish language instruction, culture, and nature by sharing our own experiences with others. We can handle groups of up to a few dozen in size, and we can provide ecology exercises, discussions on culture, society and politics in Nicaragua, Spanish courses, and lots of fun. Please contact us if you would like more information.

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Guerrero del Amor: Duo Guardabarranco

Rosey Soley composed a poem dedicated to her lover, fallen in the terrible conflict between Nicaraguans. Salvador Cardenal set the words to music, and here it is presented by Salvador and Katia, as Duo Guardabarranco. This song embodied the spirit of a generation dedicated to give their lives for the Revolution. Thank you, Rosey, Katia, and Salvador, for leaving us this beautiful homage to love and conflict in Nicaragua. The role of testimonial music in the Nicaraguan Revolution was tremendous, as can be imagined by the imagery and words of this song.

Guerrero del Amor

Warrior of Love (Rosey Soley and Salvador Cardenal)

I’ll trade you a song for the courage of your young combatant hands,

Welded to the metal with which you will save us.

I’ll trade this love of life and its promises

For the cold of your feet in the swamps,

Making fear and homesickness burn you.

Anonymous author of the dawn,

Silent deer in the mountain,

Warrior of love;

Son of these times, windmill,

Manchild born in the jungle

To go until the end, to the victory

I’ll trade you those 20 years, duplicated

Because of this necessary war,

For the silvery flower of hope

Te cambio una canción por el coraje
de tus jovenes manos combatientes,
fundidas al metal con que nos salvas.

Te cambio este amar la vida y sus promesas
por el frio de tus pies entre los suampos;
fraguando que se te quema el miedo y la nostalgia.

Autor anónimo de la alborada,
venado silencioso en la montaña,
guerrero del amor
hijo de este tiempo, remolino
hombre niño parido pues en plena selva
para llegar al fin a la victoria para llegar al fin.

Te cambio esos 20 años duplicados
a causa de esta guerra necesaria,
por la carnosa flor de la esperanza.

Autor anónimo de la alborada,
venado silencioso en la montaña;
guerrero del amor,
hijo de este tiempo, remolino
hombre niño parido pues en plena selva
para llegar al fin a la victoria para llegar al fin.

Autor anónimo de la alborada,
venado silencioso en la montaña;
guerrero del amor,
hijo de este tiempo, remolino
hombre niño parido pues en plena selva
para llegar al fin a la victoria para llegar al fin.
(Canción Dedicada a "Sandino" General de Hombres Libres 1983)