Nicaragua-Who would have guessed?

Being raised in a Nicaraguan home one would think I knew tons about it, but not the case. I did know we had great food and strong tempers. Well looking a bit more in depth I realized that we had amazing beaches, volcanoes, and yes FASHION. Nicaraguans are filled with an array of multi diverse culture, very influenced by the Mayans and the Aztecs. 

The Fashion

Nicaragua has some very driven, creative, and inspired young individuals, one individual that stood out to me was Shantall Lacayo. Currently Shantall is residing in Buenos Aires and fresh off a successful hometown presentation of her latest collection ‘Oleos sobre tela’ (literally, ‘Paintings over fabric’), which showcased the paintings of Nicaraguan artists interpreted through her original designs, Lacayo is determined on redesigning the perception of fashion from Nicaragua.

“I want people to see that there is always Nicaragua in my designs. If I’m going to produce something it will come from here. I want it to be known as a product from here. I don’t want to be known as a designer that lives in Buenos Aires, I want to be known as a designer from Nicaragua."

Shantell studied  Fashion Marketing for 5 years at UAM , she believes this has given her a slight edge over some designers because she undesrstands that people have to like it and people have to want it, because if people don’t want it or like it it’s just going to be there.

The Art

Much of the art Nicaragua produced there was burned and censured by the National Guard, during Somoza’s regime.After the over throw of the Somoza dynasty, by the Sandinistas, followed a period of freedom of expression, ideology and national identity within the artistic community. This new ideology is intimately related to the now popular artistic forms.

This painting was by one of Nicaragua's most prominent contemporary Nicaraguan composers Salvador Cardenal. He is a singer-songwriter, poet, painter and ecologist with more than thirty years of artistic life. Salvaor Cardenal passed earlier on this year.

The food

Now we are discussing something I have been familiar with my whole life, the food.To start Nicaragua is all about feeding and sharing a meal to bring the family together. A very popular dish is the Nacatamale, its just a larger version of a tamale with much more meat inside.The locals have it for breakfast with a nice cup of café de leche (It’s like a Nicoya latte) Milk, coffee and sugar! Yum!! 

Nicaragua is a typical Latin-American country: with rice, beans, tortillas, plugs and meat forming the diet staples. The national plate is El Gallo Pinto, a plate of rice and beans. In the majority of the rural homes Gallo Pinto is the fundamental sustenance of the nourishment, beside being present in the breakfast, lunch and dinner. You will find plantains (a type banana with a similar taste to potatoes) in all parts of the country. They are usually served sliced length ways and fried. When slices are circular, fried, and served a bit of cheese and a toothpick, as sandwiches, they are known as tostones.

Gallo Pinto

1 cup of cooked rice
1 cup of cooked beans
1 chopped onion (small)
1 small chopped red pepper
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbs oil
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Pinch of black pepper
1 tbs seasoning

How to prepare
1. Fry onion, red pepper, garlic, cilantro in the vegetable oil, about 3 minutes.
2. Pour in the beans and add the sauce, black pepper and seasoning. Let it cook for a few minutes, but don’t let it dry out.
3. Pour in the cooked rice and mix it with the beans

Enjoy with:
Sour Cream
Platanos maduros
Eggs (fried or scrambled )