by M.Sc. Ronald Betancourt

Nicaragua – with its majestic natural offering of lakes, lagoons, rivers, and volcanoes forming different habitats overflowing with the richness of its flora and fauna – is an exceptional place to get to know. But there is another wealth, too, hidden in the thinking of its people and appearing in the tales, myths, and legends that make up part of the culture and idiosyncrasies of Nicaraguans, especially those who appear to be the simplest of folk, all the while guarding the treasure of the traditions of our grandparents and ancestors.

Many of Nicaragua’s myths and legends arose as its society’s response to the invasion of other cultures, a kind of weapon to be used against those warranting a lesson. Every town and city has hair-raising stories of ghosts, specters, skulls, baying hounds, or some witch sow running down the streets at night with her piglets in tow: all pursuing their victims of the moment. This makes our culture all the richer, but little by little, modernism is scattering this heritage to the winds of time.