Tortugas and Art

Centro de Arte Fundación Ortiz Gurdian, Léon (Nicaragua)

Not far away from the central square of León, Nicaragua, you can discover a rather unexpected pleasure, the Centro de Arte Fundación Ortiz Gurdián. Next to the San Francisco church you can enter a large and well-maintained art museum. It is a private museum financed by two private entrepreneurs and art collectors. Inaugurated in the year 2000 it is today often seen as the best museum for contemporary art in Central America.

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Revolución

Museo de la Revolucion, Léon (Nicaragua)

Nicaragua is a country that isn’t on screen in Europe and that young people here don’t know much about. That was totally different in 1979 when the Nicaraguan revolution succeeded and dictator Somoza had to leave the country. In the following years Nicaragua became a left-wing utopia, many people were dreaming of a better life in a Latin American socialist paradise. From all over the world volunteers came to Nicaragua to help rebuilt the country.

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White cathedral

Real e Insigne Basílica de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María, Léon (Nicaragua)

At the central square of León, Nicaragua, you’ll find the Real e Insigne Basílica de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María – the Baroque style cathedral completely painted in white to protect against the sun. It was finished in the year 1860 and is today a UNESCO world heritage site. The cathedral is beautifully decorated outside and inside; it contains an impressive large Way of the Cross and is the burial place for several important poets, including the famous Rubén Darío.

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Chickenbus experience

Chicken Bus, Léon (Nicaragua)

What happens to old US school busses? They get sold and receive a second life in Latin America. There they are repainted and receive a religious statement as an inscription in the front. From now on they tour through countries like Nicaragua on fixed routes, but without determined stops and vaguely known schedules. Every now and then people enter to sell food and drinks, beauty products or even livestock – maybe that is the reason for the local name: chicken bus.

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