Days of Heaven...conclude

Day 18. This will be one of the very few declarations I will be making during my travels. Granada is the most beautiful town in all of Central America. It is Washington Square Park, the French Quarters, and the Montmantre district all rolled into one. The people are very generous, there is a strong vibe of cultural heritage, and the overall color of the town is like powdered paint- soft yet vibrant.

I arrived here quickly after a 40 KM drive on the Carretera Masaya, coming out of the capital. It was close to 10 am in the morning, when I parked my driver´s ed car along one of the many colonial churches in town. I´d yet to have my morning caffeine rush, so I headed over to the first of many coffee shops that I saw in the main plaza. Across the other side, I could see many kiosks setting up shop. After being done with my breakfast, I made a beeline for vendors and inquired what was happening. They responded that the town was starting its annual six-day International Festival of Poetry. Many poetry reading, and book sales would be going on throughout the week.

The midday sun starting beating over my head, so I felt the need to go somewhere I could relax in the shade. I jumped back in the rental car, and decided to check out Las Isletas. They are a group of small islands surrounding the peninsula of Asese on Lake Nicaragua. I rented a motor boat, with my own personal chaffeur that would cruise me around for 90 minutes, all at a cost of $12, tip not included.

The motorboat was driven by one señor Jarquin, who has worked in the tourism industry for the last 10 years. He tells me about all the programatic functions the little islands have in relation to each other. There are several of them that serve as restaurants, one that houses a bathroom, but for the most part people live in them, including him.

The subject quickly shifts to politics. He tells me that the last two years, tourism in Nicaragua has been hard hit by the reelection of Daniel Ortega. His reign during the 80´s gave the country an undesirable image, and most American tourists have been steering away. He also laments that the cost of food has skyrocketed, and just when tourism is starting to become the country´s bread and butter (coffee is no.1), along comes a former dictator. He also states that Im the first passenger he´s had all week, and tells me how fortunate I am to be living in the US (the most humbling moment so far this trip). The tour ends and for his insight and good service I left a $20 tip, knowing that it may be not a whole lot considering the direction the country may possible be going.

I drove back to the Main Plaza for some serious sight seeing now that the sun had slightly subsided. I stopped by the Cultural Heritage museum, to check out their Pre-Columbian art. As I was strolling down one of the avenues, I saw a group of kids working on art projects. I poked my head, and one of the teachers invited me inside to observe. This was an artist´s residency by the name of Casa de Tres Mundos ( House of three continents). I spoke to Lissete (project director), of how the organization is run, and she tells me of how most of the funding comes from European countries. I asked her if the Nicaraguan government is involved in helping, and quickly tries to avoid the subject by saying no. She does state that the local municipality doesnt even lift a finger in providing local funds, and aside from visual arts the organization also supports classical music, and photography.

We walked around the building, which is in the form a local courtyard, like most large structures in Nicaragua, and shows me to where the artist residence (they also have after school courses for kids). I met two of them, who have been working and residing for the past few years (Jameer and Memo). Considering that these guys have never had any formal training in art, they spoke with such conviction and intuition of their work that I was blown away. We spent about an hour debating what the meaning of it all is, and what their influences are. Jameer (the more verbal of the two), says that he dreams of having a show in NYC one day. Not just because its the US, but because its the art capital of the world. Afterwords, I went back to the kids classroom and said my goodbyes. I asked Lisette if I could take a picture of the whole class, and they all agreed.

As they day was passing quickly, I checked out the rest of Granada. All the kiosks were fully set up and were selling all sorts of literature from Latin America. One of the biggest draws was Ruber Dario, the literary heavyweight of Nicaragua. A concert was held out in the plaza, but most people were busy doing their own little projects and sight seeing around town, including myself.

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