“Survivor Nicaragua” officially teased in preview video

May 17th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

The producers of CBS’s “Survivor” sure make Nicaragua, where their 21st season is set, sound awesome and untamed!

“This is Nicaragua! It is a land of impenetrable terrain, smoldering volcanoes, and savage wildlife!”

I have a question for all you “Survivor” fans out there: How important is the setting? Is the show only about the contestants, or will viewers learn something about Nicaragua?

The Spanish and Italian versions of “Survivor” also filmed in Nicaragua this year: article in the NicaTimes.

Your Mom. This Mothers’ Day, honor her with a small (or large) donation for education in Nicaragua

May 5th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Does your mother really need another doily? Here’s a different way to honor her: support the mothers of Empowerment International, who live in outlying barrios of Granada, Nicaragua:

“We’re seeing an increasing trend of mothers involved and engaged in supporting their children’s school work, and they’re proud of what their children have achieved. This is a real measure of the success of the EI program—only a few years ago it was difficult to convince the families that their kids attending school was worth the lost income from them not being able to work in the streets.”

Watch the slide show and honor your mother here.

LAND makes first splash: Nica Times article describes film’s “Racy Look at Nicaragua’s Land Boom”

April 19th, 2010 | By Joshua | 41 Comments »

In a Nica Times article entitled “Documentary Takes Racy Look at Nicaragua’s Land Boom,” Tim Rogers interviews Canadian director and producer Julian Pinder about his new film, LAND.

LAND is a feature documentary which attacks the issue of foreign development in southwest Nicaragua. Pinder calls his film “a modern wild-west story; a convolution of morals in frontier country.”

He says, “So many social-issue films try to expose bad guys or extol the past, but I really wanted to tell a story and let people figure it out for themselves and make their own judgments.”

One thing is certain: people will make judgments. From the “bring your gun” motto on the movie poster, to the edgy nine-minute trailer, I look forward to the discussions sure to come.
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Article in Worldview Magazine: FIRE TRUCKS AND WATER FILTERS

April 16th, 2010 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

More than 200,000 people have served in the U.S. Peace Corps during the 49 years that the program has been around. Many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have gone on to do remarkable things. My article in the newest issue of Worldview magazine (a publication for returned and active volunteers) is about Rodney McDonald, a fellow Nica RPCV (and fellow adopted Esteliano) who still lives in Nicaragua to coordinate the equipment donations, fire truck arrivals, trainings, video productions, and other tasks for the non-profit organization he helped found, Emergency Response Services in Latin America (ERSLA).

JB: What advice would you give others looking to import big-ticket donations like fire engines and ambulances?
RM: Make sure the infrastructure is in place to support the donation…. I know of quite a few “good intentions” that have been donated and later to be parked and not be able to be utilized anywhere or even worse, where engines blew up in the trucks because no one took the time to show where to check the oil.

Download the entire article here: “Profiles in Service: FIRE TRUCKS AND WATER FILTERS”

Nicaragua and Belize make “the world’s 14 top retirement havens” in new book HOW TO RETIRE OVERSEAS

April 9th, 2010 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Three 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 the long-time editor and publisher of International Living (until 2007 when she started another venture, Live and Invest Overseas), 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.

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LAND: Hard-hitting trailer for feature documentary on foreign development in Nicaragua

March 15th, 2010 | By Joshua | 3 Comments »

Wow, 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….

Rest In Peace Salvador Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet, songwriter, musician

March 10th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Nicaragua has lost one of its most iconic poets, Salvador Cardenal, one-half of the famed Duo Guardabarranco. Salvador died this week from a blood vessel disease called cryoglobulinemia. He was a foundation in the Nicaraguan folk music scene, known throughout Latin America, and will be missed by many.

Enjoy the many videos, tributes, and interviews on his site: http://salvadorcardenal.com/

Photo-essay on gold mining in Nicaragua

March 3rd, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

It doesn’t happen very often, so I get a cheap thrill whenever Nicaragua gets BoingBoinged:

HOWTO mine gold in Nicaragua

“A photo-essay by James Rodriguez documenting the history and consequences of mining activities, both artisanal and industrial, in the so-called mining triangle in northeastern Nicaragua.” Rodriguez is an independent documentary photographer based in Guatemala. His intimate images from the Mining Triangle in Nicaragua’s deepest mountain interior are fascinating to me, as this is one region of the country I still have not visited.

From the Nicaragua T-shirt files…

February 28th, 2010 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

I took this photo in northern Nicaragua in 1998. “DON’T BLAME ME I VOTED REPUBLICAN,” walking past the regional FSLN office in La Trinidad, Estelí.

Name the location of this backpacker mural and I’ll give you a high five

February 27th, 2010 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Though I’m pretty sure they painted over him years ago, I have a hunch that his legacy lives on. If you have a memory of this flat-headed, rosy-cheeked gringo and his utterly unique and funky home, please share it here and prove me right. Bonus points for sensory details. (more…)