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.

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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."

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->