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Power to the People mixes renewable energy, voluntourism on La Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Monday, 19 July 2010
still_solar.jpgThis short film abut a solar energy installation in rural Nicaragua was produced by Brad Allgood, an independent filmmaker, and Jenean Smith, founder of Power to the People, both of whom, we are proud to say, are fellow Peace Corps Nicaragua brethren (I love hearing how my RPCV compas have found creative ways to stay connected to their host countries … but I digress).

The video opens with a wonderful, marimba-filled tribute to Nicaragua, then follows a group of volunteers as they travel to La Isla de Ometepe to assist with a solar panel installation. Beautiful scenery, interesting story, worthy cause. Enjoy.

Last Updated ( Monday, 19 July 2010 )
 
The magic of place: Silvio Sirias’s expansive portrayal of Nicaragua in Bernardo and the Virgin PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Monday, 14 June 2010

bernardo.jpgThe first book I ever read about Nicaragua was Blood of Brothers, by Stephen Kinzer. It was 1997 and I’d just received my invitation from the U.S. Peace Corps to work in Nicaragua as a forestry volunteer. All I knew about Nicaragua was that it was in Central America, it sounded exotic, and I would be living there for the next two-and-a-half years, little else.

Kinzer gave a sharp, alluring portrait of a country during its hottest hours (the Sandinista revolution of 1979 and subsequent social experiment and civil war that lasted till 1990); but I was looking for more. The second book I read about Nicaragua was also non-fiction, by a Nicaraguan this time, also about the war. And the third. You get the picture. It took some digging to find other periods of Nicaraguan history, and still I found few descriptions in the literature about the life in store for me, about modern-day, small-town Nicaragua.

That’s where Silvio Sirias should have come in, but alas, this was before he had even conceived of Bernardo and the Virgin, his 2005 novel based on real events and characters from deep within the Nicaraguan culture and countryside. I would have to wait ten years to read Bernardo, which also deals with recent history, but in a more personable, creative way than any nonfiction attempt I’d read.

Last Updated ( Monday, 14 June 2010 )
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Nicaragua 3rd leading nation in foreign direct investment PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Saturday, 29 May 2010

Nicaragua remains, for the second consecutive year, the third leading nation in Latin America when measuring foreign direct investment (FDI) as a percent of each country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to a 2009 study conducted by the Latin Business Chronicle which analyzes FDI data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and GDP data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In 2009, Nicaragua reported US$434 million in FDI and its GDP reached US$6.2 billion, which translates into a FDI/GDP rate of 7.1 percent. Even when experiencing a 31 percent decrease relative to 2008, Nicaragua's FDI figures can be considered positive when compared to the rest of the Central American region, as other countries that have traditionally been strong recipients of FDI experienced drastic drops, such as Honduras (-46.1 percent) and El Salvador (-45.5 percent).

More here: 24-7Pressrelease.com

 
Spanish "Survivor" to be filmed in Nicaragua PDF Print E-mail
Written by Randall Wood   
Sunday, 18 April 2010

Nicaragua has been chosen as the new location for Spain's version of the reality show Survivor (Supervivientes) Season 11, expected to air in May 2010. The Spanish television network, Telecinco, announced that the destination for this season will no longer be the Cochinos Keys in Honduras like the previous four seasons; instead, the participants will travel to Nicaragua's South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS, for its acronym in Spanish), specifically to Corn Island and the Pearl Keys.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 29 May 2010 )
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Nicaragua on list of “14 top retirement havens” in new book HOW TO RETIRE OVERSEAS PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Friday, 09 April 2010
retire_book.jpgThree Central American countries (Nicaragua, Belize, and Panama) are among “The world’s fourteen top retirement havens,” as listed in HOW TO RETIRE OVERSEAS: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad, by long-time editor and publisher of International Living, Kathleen Peddicord.

The sections on each country are short, but they are concise, practical, and packed with helpful statistics. For example, the book includes information on the new law in Nicaragua to benefit retirees, which was just passed in June, 2009, and estimates the monthly cost of living in a city like León at about US$1200.

There are also general information chapters to help the reader rent or buy a home overseas, understand your tax liability, and avoid common mistakes. Overall, this is a helpful resource, especially for comparing countries and narrowing down your choices. After all, the first question any potential expat must ask is, “Where should I go?”

Last Updated ( Friday, 09 April 2010 )
 
"LAND": Hard-hitting trailer for feature documentary on foreign development in Nicaragua PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Thursday, 18 March 2010
land_film_nicaragua.jpgWow, it’s good to see someone taking this issue by the horns and giving it a good shake! Watch the LAND trailer from Canadian filmmaker Julian Pinder and Six Island Productions. The description reads:

“…American developers charge on, transforming jungle and beach into resorts, hotels, and gated communities. Unexpectedly, the former revolutionaries sweep back into power and re-claim the country. This modern day wild west erupts into a battle between former revolutionaries, angry locals, and foreign developers over the land beneath their feet. But progress marches on … Or does it?”

The trailer features everyone from Comandante Zero to Jimmy Carter to gringo developers and expats … this baby is going to ruffle some serious feathers on real-estate row in San Juan del Sur and Granada! It says the movie was short-listed for the Cannes Film Festival and will be released this summer 2010. Can’t wait….

Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 March 2010 )
 
“Nicaragua is a place of wonders”: A Chat with Silvio Sirias, author of Meet Me Under the Ceiba PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Thursday, 14 January 2010
meet-me-under-the-ceiba.jpgThere is not much fiction in the suggested readings section of Moon Nicaragua. It’s mostly history, memoir, and political analysis. That’s why Silvio Sirias’s books are such a breath of fresh air for Nicaphiles who love reading anything about “The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes.”

In his first novel, Bernardo and the Virgin (Northwestern University Press, 2007), Sirias takes the reader to the village of Cuapa, Chontales, in central Nicaragua. The book fictionalizes the story of a campesino to whom the Holy Virgin appeared in 1980 while providing a vivid slice of recent history through the eyes of everyday Nicas.

His latest book, Meet Me Under the Ceiba (Arte Publico Press, 2009, winner of the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize), is also a work of fiction. It takes place in the tiny twin villages of La Curva and Pio XII, in the hills south of the capital. Maybe I’m biased since I actually lived in Pio XII as a Peace Corps trainee in 1998 (as Sirias writes, “…very few people in Managua had even heard of this miserable little town”), and I can vouch for the book’s authenticity. Ceiba is based on a true crime that occurred in 1999, and on the intolerance of Nicaraguan culture to homosexuality. I wrote a short review of his book here, then had the opportunity to sit down with the author (he in Panama, where he teaches literature, and me in Colorado).

Enjoy:

JB: I’ve been to the places you’ve written about in your books and I’m amazed by your simple-yet-accurate portrayal of these communities and the characters. Is part of your goal with these books to give readers a true Nicaraguan experience by showing them the thousand little details that makes it such a unique country? Or is the setting always secondary to your narrative?

SS: My top priority when writing a novel is develop a strong plot—the storyline has to hold a reader’s interest from the opening sentence through the concluding one.  But I’m also convinced that a good tale must have interesting characters; and interesting characters require an interesting setting.  So, as you can see, the setting is a key ingredient in my fictional mosaic.  But I also want the reader to experience life in Nicaragua as vividly as possible.  As you well know, Josh, Nicaragua is a place of wonders.  Yet for me to take the reader there successfully story, character, setting, and cultural authenticity must each be dealt with meticulously, as well as lovingly.

 READ MORE->


Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 January 2010 )
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Novelist Silvio Sirias Coming to GoToNicaragua this Thursday.... PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
silvio-and-palm.jpgNica-American Author Silvio Sirias is including GoToNicaragua.com in his blog tour this Thursday, January 14, 2010. I’ll post a review of Sirias’s latest novel Meet Me Under the Ceiba, a book which offers wonderful storytelling, plus a remarkably vivid portrait of small-town Nicaraguan life (which is good news for those of us on a constant Nica nostalgia kick). There is a reason LatinoStories.com just named him one of 2010’s Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch (and Read). Stop by on Thursday....
 
[cross-posted on Tranquilo Traveler]
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 January 2010 )
 
TIME article on baseball diplomacy in Nicaragua PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Tuesday, 29 December 2009

 I just saw Invictus, so sports-politics combo is on my mind. Here's a recent TIME magazine piece by Granada-based journalist Tim Rogers on a related subject: 

Can U.S. Baseball Diplomacy Get the Save in Nicaragua?

"I think the State Department is coming to realize, belatedly, that [baseball] can be a very effective tool in public diplomacy," Callahan told TIME. In the case of the U.S. and Nicaragua, he said, "of all the things that unite us, I think the great sport of baseball is the most important."

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 December 2009 )
 
Where are they now files: DailyKos checks in on Eugene Hasenfus PDF Print E-mail
Written by Joshua Berman   
Tuesday, 29 December 2009

 From the sketchy Reagan-Contra files, here is a fascinating flashback to the capture of Eugene Hasenfus in Nicaragua. "Shot down Oct. 5, 1986, while kicking crated cargo to anti-government terrorists from a CIA plane over the back-country of Nicaragua, his capture by Sandinista militiamen led to the exposure of what would become known as the Iran-contra affair."

Be sure to read through the bottom where you get an update this Nicaragua player: "Hasenfus ... faded into his old life in small-town Wisconsin.... accused of indecent exposure ... killed a bear without a license," etc. LINK->

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 December 2009 )
 
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