Resources About Nicaragua

International travel is a richer experience if the traveler understands a bit about the culture, history, politics, economics, geography and society of the country one is to visit. Each participant is expected to educate him or herself about the host country prior to travel.

Resources to get started are listed below including relevant websites, travel guides, books, and films. Please take the opportunity to explore and enjoy some of these resources. The first listed resource is the most complete research study of its kind that is specific to the elder population that we serve. The research was conducted by our partnering in-country geriatrician, Dr. Lopez, one of only four geriatricians in the entire country of Nicaragua.

Research on the Health of Elders In Nicaragua

Evaluación de los Hogares de Ancianos en la región centro-norte de Nicaragua By Milton López Norori. MD, MPH, MG Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España, 2006 Click here

General Cultural Competency

What's Up With Culture? An on-line cultural training resource for study abroad. Click here

Websites About Nicaragua

CIA - The World Factbook -- Nicaragua Features a map and brief descriptions of geography, economy, government, and people. www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Nicaragua: History, Geography, Government, and Culture Very basic information on the land, its people, history and government. www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107839.html

The travel state website offers general country and travel information including entry and exit requirements, safety and security, crime, health and transport.www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_985.html

Nicaragua : Country Studies - Federal Research Division, Library Overview of life, history, and culture by the US Library of Congress. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/nitoc.html

Travel Guides

Nicaragua, Lucas Vidgen & Adam Skolnick, Lonely Planet Publications

Moon Handbooks Nicaragua (Moon Handbooks) Randall Wood and Joshua Berman Avalon Travel

Adventure Guide Nicaragua (Adventure Guide Series) by Erica Rounsefell

Nicaragua Newspapers (in Spanish)

El Nuevo Diario - http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/
La Prensa - El Diario de los Nicaraguenses - http://www.laprensa.com.ni/

Books, Non-fiction

Nicaragua In Focus: a Guide to the People, Politics and Culture Hazel Plunkett, Interlink Books, 2002
Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua Stephen Kinzer, David Rockefeller Center for Latin America Studies Harvard University Press, 2007
After Revolution: Mapping Gender and Cultural Politics in Neoliberal Nicaragua Florence E. Babb, university of Texas Press, 2001
The Jaguar Smile; A Nicaraguan Journey Salman Rushdie, Pan Books Ltd, 1987
Nicaragua, Back from the Dead? An anthropological View of the Sandinista Movement in the early 21st Century. Johannes Wilm, Angela Lieber, and Shaine Parker.
Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution Matilde Zimmermann, Duke University Press, 2001
The Life and Death Of Ben Linder ,Joan Kruckewitt, Seven Stories Press, 2001
Nicaragua Thomas W. Walker, Westview Press, 2003
Nicaragua: Those Passed By Vern P. Asleson, Galde Press 2004
The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War Giaconda Belli, Anchor, 2003
Unfinished Revolution: Daniel Ortega and Nicaragua’s Struggle for Liberation by Kenneth Earl Morris. Hardcover, June 24, 2010.

Books, Fiction

Bernardo and the Virgin: A Novel Silvio Sirias, Northwestern University Press, 2005
And We Sold the Rain: Contemporary Fiction from Central America Rosario Santos, Seven Stories

Films

Walker A film about William Walker, a 19th century soldier of fortune and ruler of Nicaragua.
Under Fire A film about the last days of Somoza's rule. (Fictional story)
Carla's Song A film about the Sandinistas-Contras conflict. (Fictional, but highly political)
Nicaragua Was Our Home A documentary about repression of the Miskito Indians.
Fire from the Mountain A documentary about the Contra war.
The World is Watching A documentary covering the media frenzy during the Contra War
When the World Stopped Watching A sequel to "The World is Watching" that documents what happened when the reporters took off for the next war.
Documentary: Café Chavalos (2008)
Documentary: Pictures from a Revolution (1991)