Day 5: Madres de Heroes (Esteli)

Today Esteli is buzzing with traffic, music and the sound of children playing on the parque nacional but 40 years ago, the town was moving to the beat of revolution.

The leftist Sandinistas, formed in 1961 to overthrow 20+ year dictatorship of the right-wing Somoza regime, found many soldiers among the people of Esteli.

During the revolutionary fighting of the 70s against Somoza, and in the 80s, against the US-backed Contras, many of the town's young men gave their lives for the freedom of the Nicaraguan people.

Today I visited La Galeria de Heroes y Martires (Gallery of Heroes and Martyrs) which is run by the Asociacion de Madres de Heroes y Martires de Esteli (Association of Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs of Esteli).

Mothers who lost their sons in the revolution began to collect photos of their dead immediately after the war. At first they displayed them in rented houses, moving the display from house to house to wherever they could find space.

Today, the gallery sits in the centre of town close to the cathedral and is run by a team of volunteer mothers who sit outside each day and open the doors for visitors like me to see the face of their son and of all the sons (and some daughters) who have been lost.

Some of the exhibitions are in English and for me, the overriding theme was not of grief, but of pride in the revolution and pride in a free Nicaragua.

Have no doubt, revolutionary spirit is alive and well in Esteli.

"The life doesn't belong to me; it belongs to the brothers that have died for the ideals that we have embraced. The future is ours; the future belongs to the nation." 

- Chief Commander Carlos Fonseca Amador

Travel tips:

1. The gallery is located at Av 1aNE & Calle Transversal
2. Read more at: http://galleryofheroesandmartyrs.blogspot.com
3. Entrance is free but you can make a donation in the box next to the visitors book