“I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909–1912.
—Retired Major General Smedley Butler, United States Marine Corp
2016 Intro: I’ve only been to Nicaragua three times in my life, once as I traveled thru in the summer of 1978, and again in 2015 and 2016. 36 years between visits is a long time, so hard to believe. What struck me so deeply on my return visits, besides the warmth and hospitality of just about everyone I met, was how the current society has moved beyond the stereotypical world view of Nicaragua. Of course the Sandinista Revolution is a defining event in the country’s history, like America and its own Civil War, or Mexico and the 1910 Revolution, but meanwhile life goes on. There’s work to be done, investments to be made, mouths to feed. There are monuments, statues, anniversary celebrations and candlelight vigils for victims of one side or the other, but “time waits for no one”, to paraphrase Mick Jagger, an Englishman who once fell in love with a Nicaraguan beauty, and the memories of battle recede further and further into the past. Several taxi drivers I rode with had no recollection of the fighting at all, having been born in the 80’s. Mostly we talked beisbol and cervesa, and laughed. A lot. It might be a poor country, but it is rich in humanity. People I spoke with seemed very wise to all of the socialist propaganda and billboards extolling Ortega’s many “accomplishments”. They seemed to be aware that the government is trying to shove a lot of this rhetoric down their throats. Many believe it for sure, no question Ortega can fill a plaza and give a rousing speech, but he’s also viewed as a dinosaur, a relic of another era that has passed. However, he’s not going away and he still has about three years left in this term. One paper always refers to him as the “unconstitutional President”, since he had his Supreme Court buddies tear up the Constitution and allow him to serve more than once. From my chats with a young university student, majoring in archaeological architecture, to a middle aged woman in a wooden stall along a dirt road far removed from the capital Managua, to just sitting beside a group of young guys on a ferry laughing their heads off as we crossed Lake Nicaragua, I enjoyed the atmosphere of a country that is still inherently strong and ready to meet any challenge, whether man-made or act of God.
The following poem and commentary is dedicated to all those Nicos who cherish freedom and democracy and who deserve better than to have to live under the yoke of yet another totalitarian regime. Vivara’ Monimbo? Si, sin duda, y Nicaragua tambien. La plaga vencera’ y cada dia es el 19 de Abril.
From the rim of Masaya
I see heroes in all directions
Enshrouded in rising vapors,
Noxious
No place to linger
I put my eyes all around
There! Above me
a centuries-old wooden crucifix
planted deep in the volcanic soul of the Maseta Central
by a priest who tried in vain to kill the devil
But the devil lingered
returned from time to time,
Resurgent?
No Senor!
Triumphant?
No, never
Friar Francisco de Bobadilla, with a few Indian converts (slaves actually)attempts to baptize Volcan Masaya, 1529
Sabes que amigo?
Yo grito lo siguiente…
(You know what friend?
I shout the following…)
In 1847 he returned
aboard Royal Navy sailing ships
pride of a Queen
far removed from the tropical sun
Hell Britannia
A glamourized Anglo portrayal of British Admirals who gallantly defended British interests and subjects… worldwide
in 1856 he returned
disguised
in the form of a racist gringo
who sat uneasily
on a throne of his own imagination
bastard
Long overdue execution of the “filibustero” William Walker, 1860
In 1912 he returned
at gunpoint
flexing his norteamericano muscles
U. S. Marines proudly display the captured banner of Augusto Sandino, somewhere in Nicaragua, 1932
capturing Coyetepe
brave Marines just doing their duty
no questions asked
Two Marines pose for a photo at the base of Coyetepe Hill, 1912
but General Smedley Butler knew better
Nearby, Sandino the young witness
he didn’t forget
Salesmanship indeed, political cartoon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Another American aviation acheivement”, July 27, 1922, Louisville Couier-Journal
nor did La Republica de Nicaragua
“Boots on the ground”?
No, boots on Nicaragua’s throat
and not for the last time
View from the ramparts of Coyetepe Fortress, in the distance…Volcan Mombacho
Empty gun emplacements atop Coyetepe Fortress
Tunnel of horrors or just soldier’s barracks? Dungeons inside Coyetepe Fortress, where it is rumored Somoza’s thugs interrogated their political enemies and Sandinistas supposedly did the same after their rise to power in the early 1980’s. Such repression by both sides might not have taken place within these pornographic graffiti-covered walls, but its a meaningless question, we know it did occur, throughout the country.
From 1934 to 1979 he returned, and ruled,
in the form of a hydra-headed family bastardos
bullies all he kept out the communists they say but not the Ticos, who came to Nicaragua seeking work
They look sharp in their military outfits and can give a rousing patriotic speech, they must be good guys, right? That’s whats this gullible 1940’s Buenos Aires welcoming crowd seems to believe. Somoza Senior(left) with Argentine strongman Juan Peron (right).
darling of American Presidents
“our man in Managua”
thrice said
a family tradition of theft
like Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler
he made the trains run on time
some people were satisfied with that
they liked
“la mano duro”
nostalgia for the good ‘ol days
depends on who you talk to
Happy times in Yanquilandia, a well-fed Dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle enjoys a few laughs with President “Tricky Dick” Nixon and Security Advisor, Brigadier General Al Haig, before feasting at a state dinner, 1972
Managua earthquake, 1972, left the city center in utter ruin. Most of the money and aid generously sent to Nicaragua by donors around the world was pocketed by Somoza and members of his inner circle of friends and family.
One of many famous photographs by Susan Meisalas, “Pictures from a Revolution”
In 1979 Bobadilla’s foe returned Horrible images seen around the world but also cheering where the streets have no names
Long overdue many said, no te olvides….
English monarchs didn’t give a damn about the poor
neither did United Fruit Company or John Foster Dulles
neither did Somoza
Malcolm X was right
Ain’t gonna turn the other cheek no more, BASTA YA!
Landmines in schoolyards
helicopter gunships
house to house fighting
It’s payback time
Commandante Zero
my brother Julio served under him I’m proud to say
somewhere on the Southern Front
maybe also under Commandante Dos
(a very brave woman, Dora Maria Tellez)
distracted the National Guard
just long enough
while other cities fell
to Ortega & Company
A Bolivian mercenary in the jungles
chasing the Che dream where jaguars lurk
My father asking,
“Que es de Julito, donde esta?”
(“What’s up with Julito, where is he?”
in the jungles Papa
dead or alive?
honestly, I don’t know
You must know!
no letters sent home
Mama was stressed
Roxanna, his devoted wife, also stressed
Sad, dark times but also celebratory as he rode with Ortega around Managua
he has bad memories
but no regrets
Myself, I missed La Revolucion
the naive hitchhiker in 79′
from LA to Panama
by thumb, hoofing it too
unaware that Nicaragua was rising up
standing up for itself, again
sleeping in the cab of a truck
parked in front of a whorehouse suddenly
the pre-dawn stillness is shattered
mortar rounds and machine gun fire
the Nico driver comes hurrying out
bedraggled, shirtless, but calm and resolute
he showed no fear
“we gotta get out of here before we’re killed“, he said calmly
Motor revved up, “vamos“
in 4th gear quickly and speeding away
up ahead, a young boy of, I don’t know, maybe 11 or 12
on horseback, a rifle strapped across his back
incredible, whips his mount
sprints across the highway in front of us
disappears into a maze of trees and grasses
Thump, thump, thump
never heard mortar rounds before
Hours later I’m in Costa Rica
Was it all a dream?
No Senor.
In the 1980’s he stayed just when many thought he was gone forever a new day, briefly perhaps
but Managua remains in rubble
this before the revolution
(1972 was a bad year)
President Reagan pushes for free elections
most people South of the Border don’t believe him
not after decades of exploitation
and silence on the subject of liberty
A new war begins
Freedom Fighters, Contras
there are abuses
on both sides
the innocent suffer
Sandinistas don’t do themselves any favors
moving into luxurious homes (asi me dijo mi hermano y otros)
massacring Miskito Indians
and not just a few, bastardos de mierda, cobardes
And then, in 1998
the heavens cried
we all cried for Nicaragua
when Hurricane Mitch stalled
Hurricane Mitch as seen from space, October 26, 1998
Later, Ortega buddies up with the Castro Brothers
aging island despots who, like Somoza
will not let the people breathe
the air of freedom.
Many Latinos fail to see the contradiction
doesn’t matter
We are all Chavez! they say
are we all Ahmadinejad too?
Issuing laments for the demise
of, who? Muamar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein?
Ortega takes the low road
didn’t have to be this way Senor Presidente
like many Latino leaders
elected or not
its always better
especially at rallies
to spit at Uncle Sam and all “imperialistas”….
than to look in the mirror
A triumvirate of assassins that shared many sinister bonds, including a distaste for democracy, a hatred for America and Israel, and the ability to sleep comfortably at night while their armed thugs do all the dirty work, especially in poor neighborhoods.
Young boy selling small bags of water in the plaza in front of the Palacio Nacional as two of the nation’s most famous sons look on
Pobre Nicaragua!
how much can the people take?
Strength Beyond Measure
That’s what Nicaraguans are
Strength Beyond Measure
you can see it in dusty villages on Ometepe Island
still in love with life
quick to show daily courtesies
and to laugh
and sing
bring out the guitars compadres!
Let’s sing sad songs together
Street performers heading home after a gig on the plaza in Granada
Oye Padre Bobadilla!
you meant well, I know
but you angered a volcano
Must we pay forever
for your fuck up?
No Senor
I pray not
In the countryside near Leon, looking northeast towards Volcan Momotombo
Sad update, July, 2023…I wrote this piece in 2016 when, despite Ortega’s increasingly authoritarian actions (even at that time) I was still brimming with enthusiasm for Nicaragua and I naively believed he would serve out his third and unlawful final term and go away. How wrong and blind I was. Its now been 16 years since he first took office in 2007 and during that time a very sad, dark, cloud of repression has covered the land. Ortega the dictator has silenced, tortured, killed, jailed, and exiled just about all of his political opponents, siezed their properties, denounced and attacked the church and anyone who dares criticize him or his one-party rule. Sandinista thugs roam the streets, often at night. Make sure to lock your doors and keep your mouth shut. He’s president in name only, and like most dictators he’s never held a press conference nor participated in a televised political debate. Fidel would be proud. So would Che. Neither one ever enjoyed interviews with the foreign press. It was awkward for them to suddenly have to explain their actions or decisions. Daniel is no different. He just gives pre-rehearsed speeches at pre-arranged rallies from time to time, its the oldest dictatorial trick in the book. I firmly believe that Democracy, with all its dearly-won freedoms, protections, and flaws, will, despite the well-documented sordid past of American involvement in Nicaragua and all Latin America, one day return to Nicaragua. But it will take some time. Danielismo has driven Nicaragua onto a long and rutted dirt lane where every vehicle gets damaged, there are more potholes than road surface. It is the road of madness and nightmares, of persecution and injustice, where even attending mass is not safe. A sad road with many road signs that we all should’ve seen but failed to notice. Nicaragua resurgent? No, Nicaragua imprisoned, but only, as Chavez once said, “por ahora“(for now).
The Life is mystery; the Light is blind;
The Truth beyond our reach both daunts and fades;
The sheer perfection nowhere do we find;
The ideal sleeps, a secret, in the shades.
-Cantos de Vida y Esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope), Ruben Dario
Galleria de Coraje y Esperanza…
Tom Trigo - ephemeral thoughts on the world around us 