Nicaraguan culture has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by European culture but enriched with Amerindian sounds and flavors. Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands.

The Pacific coast has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by Europeans. It was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. The indigenous groups that historically inhabited the Pacific coast have largely been assimilated into the mestizo culture.

The Caribbean coast of the country, on the other hand, was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically along with Spanish and indigenous languages. Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are British possessions, such as Jamaica, Belize, the Cayman Islands, etc.

Unlike on the west coast, the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast have maintained distinct identities, and some still speak their native languages as first languages.

Music

Modern Nicaraguan music is a mixture of indigenous and European, especially Spanish, influences. Musical instruments include the marimba and others common across Central America.

The marimba of Nicaragua is uniquely played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees. He is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, guitar and guitarrilla (a small guitar like a mandolin). This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music. The marimba is made with hardwood plates, placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers.

Nicaragua enjoys a variety of international influence in the music arena. Bachata, Merengue, Salsa and Cumbia have gained prominence in cultural centers such as Managua, Leon and Granada. Cumbia dancing has grown popular with the introduction of Nicaraguan artists, including Gustavo Leyton, on Ometepe Island and in Managua.

Bachata dancing has also gained popularity in Nicaragua. Combinations of styles from the Dominican Republic and the United States can be found throughout the country. The nature of the dance in Nicaragua varies depending on the region. Rural areas tend to have a stronger focus on movement of the hips and turns.

Urbanized cities, on the other hand, focus primarily on more sophisticated footwork in addition to movement and turns. A considerable amount of Bachata dancing influence comes from Nicaraguans living abroad, in cities that include Miami, Los Angeles and, to a much lesser extent, New York City. Tango has also surfaced recently in cultural cities and ballroom dance occasions.

Salsa dancing has become extremely popular in Managua’s nightclubs. With various influences, the form of salsa dancing varies in Nicaragua. New York style and Cuban Salsa (Salsa Casino) elements have gained popularity across the country.

The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music that is especially loud and celebrated during the May Palo de Mayo festival. The Garifuna community exists in Nicaragua and is known for its popular music called Punta.

Also, soca music, reggaeton and reggae are popular throughout the country.

Literature

Literature of Nicaragua can be traced to pre-Columbian times with the myths and oral literature that formed the cosmogonic view of the world that indigenous people had. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature.

Nicaraguan literature has historically been an important source of poetry in the Spanish-speaking world, with internationally renowned contributors such as Rubén Darío who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua, referred to as the “Father of Modernism” for leading the modernismo literary movement at the end of the 19th century.

Other literary figures include Ernesto Cardenal, Gioconda Belli, Claribel Alegría and José Coronel Urtecho, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Carlos Martinez Rivas, Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Manolo Cuadra, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello among others.

El Güegüense

El Güegüense is a satirical drama and was the first literary work of pre-Columbian Nicaragua. It is regarded as one of Latin America’s most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua’s signature folkloric masterpiece combining music, dance and theater.

El Güegüense is performed during the feast of San Sebastián in Diriamba (Carazo department) from January 17 to the 27th.

The theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere. It was passed down orally for many centuries until it was finally written down and published into a book in 1942.

El Güegüense represents folklore of Nicaragua, therefore, UNESCO proclaimed it a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2005 making Nicaragua the only country in Central America and one of six in Latin America to have 2 proclaimed masterpieces by UNESCO. The first proclaimed masterpiece was the “Oral traditions and expressions” of the Garifuna.

Legends

Nicaraguan legends are similar to legends found in other Latin American countries. Some popular legends include:

• El Cadejo — There is a good white cadejo and an evil black cadejo. Both are spirits that appear at night to travellers. The white cadejo to protect them from harm during their journey, and the black cadejo (sometimes an incarnation of the devil) to kill them. The cadejos usually appear in the form of a large, cow-sized shaggy dog with burning red eyes and a goat’s hooves, although in some areas they have more bull-like characteristics. According to the stories, those who have attempted to kill the black cadejo have failed and perished.
• La Cegua — Also called Cihuanaba, Cegua is probably a romanization of the nahuatl “Cihua” which means woman. La Cegua is a witch who resides in the woods. She takes on several facades. At times she appears in a white corn leaf dress with a veil covering her face. It is said that she has long black hair covering over her face. She is also said to wear a Guarumo Tree leaf dress and her voice is made rasping and hollow by plantain leaves covering her teeth. Others say that her face is ghostly and that her eyes stare into her victim’s souls. Still another version says that she is believed to have the face of a horse. Nicaraguans also say that she walks through the woods and back roads naked, waiting for her next victim. Men are drawn to her fantastical silhouette. The words she speaks to these men are so horrific that the victim goes insane instantaneously — something from which they never recover. La Cegua is believed to have super-human abilities and is able to walk through solid objects, gravitate above ground and fly at extreme speeds in her efforts to lure men into her trap. To save yourself from such an encounter you should carry mustard seeds and throw them before her. She apparently will stop to try and pick up the magical seeds. As with other myths in Nicaraguan folklore, the tale of La Cegua is believed to ensure that men come straight home after work.
• La Llorona — Sometimes called the Woman in White or the Weeping Woman is the ghost of a woman crying for her dead children. Her appearances are sometimes held to presage death.
• La Novia de Tola (“The bride from Tola”) — Apocryphal legend of a maiden who went insane after her fiancé stood her up at the altar. In current usage, to say that someone was “left like the bride from Tola” is a uniquely Nicaraguan idiom meaning that someone was stood up or left “holding the bag”. The city of Tola in the department of Rivas, Nicaragua erected a statue in the town square to honor the legendary bride.
• La Carreta Nagua
• La Taconuda