Street Music of Mexico and Central AmericaJuly-October 1995
Read the series introduction here.
Dedicated to street musicians making a living peso a peso.
NICARAGUA
I got an impromptu Sandinista tour in León, a rebel stronghold during the war to overthrow the Samoza regime. By this time, Washington dollars had defeated the Sandinistas politically where Washington bullets could not. But pride in the Revolution remained visible in murals, sculptures, and the voices of people who were formerly rebels or supported them as an opposition party.
...33) Around the time I got to Masaya, a beautiful town where men played small marimbas rested on their laps in cafes, I realized I was pretty low on funds and I had to decide which way to go: Head back north overland by bus with enough cash to stop and rest at a few cheap hotels; or go east toward the Caribbean port of Bluefields, in hopes I might be able to catch a freighter for the short trip by sea back to the USA in exchange for some work. Being naive and reckless I headed for the coast. The trip was worthwhile for the chance to take the sparse, bumpy Nic 7 from Managua through the forest. My last hotel room was infested with wood spiders big enough to span the palm of my hand, not that I picked any up, and exhaustion insured that I slept fine. The people changed from mestizo to mostly African speaking a pidgin English as you near the Caribbean. Of course there were no ships leaving for the US anytime soon, and even if there were, they wouldn't allow some stupid gringo kid on board. 34) So after a few days I started on the very long bus ride home, catching a few more recordings along the way....
¡Ai-ai-ai-ai-ai! me enamoró Nicaragua....
La Música Callejera - Nicaragua
Última estación: En autobús pa'l norte
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