by Tim Axelsen

So what are the motivations of those of us who pack up and move indefinitely to a land as contrasting as possible to that in which we currently reside? What makes us want to discard a comfortable life and head on down the road to apparent oblivion?

While the impetus of the young might be obvious, the rationale of those of us of a more mature nature are more mystifying. Is it merely a matter of boredom and an over adequacy of cash? It would seem not as many who have the means to travel are content to simply venture to a tourist resort for a couple of weeks a year. Possibly the thought of repeating our youth makes us think we can recapture it. It is not until we jam into planes, scramble in and out of buses, haul ourselves on and off boats and comb foreign streets in an enduring search for good value hotels and restaurants, that we realize there are distinct disadvantages.

by Kathleen Peddicord

It doesn’t take much imagination to see where Nicaragua is headed…or to recognize the potential of an investment in real estate in this country right now. The situation is similar to that in Costa Rica and Belize in the late 1980s and in Honduras’ Bay Islands in the late 1990s when real estate prices increased by 500% or more in a very short time. And arguably, Nicaragua’s lakes, volcanoes, two oceans, waterways and pristine rainforests offer greater potential than its neighbors.

Consider Costa Rica…Back in the 1980s the country was an unpopular outpost, known only among backpackers. Then two things happened that would change things dramatically.

First, in 1987, former President Oscar Arian Sanchez earned the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize when he negotiated a cease-fire for the country’s neighbors, which put into place the groundwork for a unified Central American Parliament.

by Mike Sabine

Gun fire echoed off its walls, dictators strode its halls, the legislature was held hostage here at gun point, its ceiling crashed in as a devastating earthquake made the ground heave. Nicaragua’s national museum not only houses the history and culture of the country, some of it was made there.

 In sweeping murals, art collections, artifacts and displays, it holds the essence of the country’s past. Divided into sections, the museum’s rooms include pre-Columbian pottery and stone statues, natural history, national symbols and a contemporary art collection from Latin America.

The building, located near Managua’s lake front, is a two story colonial style with high ceilings, grand staircases, wide hallways and an open air interior courtyard with towering Royal palms, gifts from Cuban dictator Bautista to Nicaraguan dictator Somoza in 1952. Built in 1931, it served as presidential offices and meeting hall for the legislature until damaged in the 1972 earthquake, El Desastre. The building was finally restored and made into a museum in 1997.

by Donna Tabor

Nine year old Omar had never held a crayon before. His teacher, a Canadian volunteer, was surprised to learn that he didn’t know the color red. Nor did he know blue, green, or the other hues in his Crayola box.

Moises, 16, was only a few steps ahead. He knew colors, but he didn’t know how to read. That wasn’t surprising. He had lived on the streets for five years, estranged from his family that was ruled by an abusive grandfather. Following an all-too-common path, Moises became an addicted glue sniffer while on the streets, and his school years passed him by.

Omar and Moises now are students at Quinta Los Chavalos, a day school for 21 boys from surrounding barrios, and a residence for five others.

A steady stream of volunteers and professional teachers has started to make subtle changes in the lives of the boys. Moises can now sound out words syllable by syllable. Omar loves to color, paint, and create anything from nothing.

 An Interview with ProNicarauga’s Executive Director, Juan Carlos Pereira

Q. What is ProNicaragua and who is funding it? 

A. ProNicaragua is the new investment promotion agency of Nicaragua created to serve the needs of investors looking for opportunities in Nicaragua. We are a public-private institution operating under the Presidential Commission on Investment Promotion and have received financial and other support from the President’s Office, the Nicaraguan Private Sector, UNDP, World Bank, MIGA, INCAE, and Harvard University.

We are actively participating in direct marketing campaigns abroad in an effort to bring more investment to Nicaragua. We advocate for the foreign investor and can assist potential investors navigate through their next foreign investment decision.

ProNicaragua offers services, free of charge, to qualified investors. Customized Site Visits can be organized for 2, 3, or 4 days so investors can see for themselves why Nicaragua could be an ideal off-shore platform for growth.

by Fabio Fabbo

A marvelous technician, Winston Miranda has a great knack for surprise and a bold sense of composition. A true artist, Miranda isn’t a slave to any one idea or style, he is always investigating his own technical ability and vivid imagination. Miranda has excelled with classical still life’s in the vain of Henri Fantin Latour, mixed media, realism and today is working in a style closest to surrealism.

Using Nicaragua’s rich and colorful backdrops, Miranda daringly overlays robust still life forms. Layering upon windows that explore different shadows, reflections and distortions, Miranda includes forms such as fruit, apparitions and themes current to Nicaragua. With these platforms he explores the minutia of different light and shadows. His priority and pre-occupation, his family, also make subtle appearances. This is fertile ground for Miranda’s attention to detail and still life precision. His bright and lively current work entices the viewer into a dialogue questioning the boundaries of what we assume is real.

by Martha Leach

Bygocha doesn’t arm himself with an array of paintbrushes, his artistic tool of choice is a spatula. Applying paint in thick layers, the result is an intensity of color that bursts from the canvas and pleases the eye. The paintings of Byron Gómez Chavarría, better known as Bygocha, a nickname derived from the first syllables of his name, reflect his passion for nature and his affinities with Nicaragua, Europe and his loved ones.

 In his landscapes, Bygocha depicts a vision of nature where the simplest scene is full of complexities. With dancing flecks of foam and sunlight, water and land arouse the senses. Flowering trees, waterfalls and volcanoes come alive with scent and motion while reflecting the tranquility he finds in such natural wonders.