by Richard Leonardi

To create this unique photography book Nicaragua’s finest 32 photographers were assigned a specific zone somewhere in Nicaragua, given a detailed list of possible images for that zone and sent out at the exact same time. For a two day period the photographers saturated the country, spreading out around Nicaragua’s breadth, seeping into its corners, walking its countryside, villages and cities. For some this involved flying in light aircraft to inaccessible locals like Waspam, Corn Island or Bonanza, others used 4×4 vehicles to penetrate deep into the interior of rural Nueva Segovia, Jinotega, Matagalpa, Boaco and Chontales. Many traveled in boat, cradling their gear while splashing through bodies of wave swept water from Lake Nicaragua and the Río San Juan to Pearl Lagoon and Solentiname, some mounted horseback or mule to arrive to shoot sites, while others enjoyed the relative comfort of working in the cities of Managua, Chinandega, Rivas, León and Granada. Regardless of location, all 32 photographers were presented with challenges unique to their professions.

Photojournalists are accustomed to covering news stories, when they pick up a camera their purpose is clear and their subject is normally aware that he or she is newsworthy. Working on this project as a documentary photographer, the photojournalist must adapt to see his own story and find that story in common, everyday life. He must also convince his subject to accept his intrusion, his camera’s seemingly inexplicable interest.

For the advertising or commercial photographer the challenge is even greater. Thrown out of the studio or at least stripped of customary control over light and subject, the commercial photographer shooting real life is navigating on foreign waters. He must deal with harsh backlight, rain, overcast sky and gritty faces. It is an alien universe, void of models, make-up artists and hairstylists. 

Even for the experienced documentalist, this assignment was no easy stroll. Most documentary photographers take months or years to photograph a single theme. They are accustomed to working in a methodical, laborious manner. If a photojournalist is the rabbit, grabbing shots in the heat of the moment and getting it to press, the documentalist is a turtle, plodding along in obscurity, using a calendar in place of a wristwatch.

For “The Nicaraguans” all the photographic artists involved were presented a truly all encompassing theme, a massive canvas to paint beautifully, in severely limited time. There were no occasions to build relationships with the subjects before photographing them, nor develop contacts to assure access to potentially interesting shots. It was grueling work against the clock that also demanded unique, sublime results. It was akin to being thrown out of an airplane and being told to write a brilliant collection of poetry before you hit the ground.

The end result is unique to the history of both photography and art in Nicaragua. “The Nicaraguans” allows the viewer to experience all of the lifeblood of Nicaragua at once. The images collected in “The Nicaraguans” expose Nicaragua countrywide, at play, at work, in the city and countryside, navigating sea to sea, from sunrise to sunset and dancing into the night.  

The prolific, top quality work of the photographers around Nicaragua produced enough excellent photographs to produce at least three photography books. Editing was a painful task that involved eliminating hundreds of fabulous images to attain a balanced and digestible collection of photographs, one that would not only fill a broad range of themes, but also strive for an even distribution of locales while maintaining some semblance of demographical balance. Though the process of elimination was harrowing, it was also a revelation, for it further enforced the belief that Nicaragua is blessed with some of Latin America’s finest photographers and solidified the simple fact that the Nicaraguan people are amongst the most beautiful in the world.