Lionel Barrios - Intricate and Inspired Clay Artist!

Lionel Barrios, the husband of Daysis Sanchez, joined the Sanchez family studio and produces beautiful vessels including many functional art pieces.

His etched work on a black background results in truly delightful works of art (see below).





He was one of the few clay artists who responded to my requests for vessels with new shapes and surface finishes. In particular, I was looking for containers that would be fitting for the art of Japanese flower arranging, or ikebana. The photo at the top of this post shows two of his new shapes in progress. The finished products are illustrated above and below left.



His vessels include vasijas, ollas and cuencos with subjects ranging from animals, birds and plants from nature, to fantastical mythical creatures, to geometric surface illusions. He has one of the steadiest hands of all the artists in the small village of San Juan de Oriente, which results in etched and incised work of exquisite strength, clarity and precision.

Daysis and Lionel live just outside San Juan de Oriente, with their young son. They share studio and kiln space with other members of the Sanchez family.

Lionel's work is available at his home workshop, and at www.NicaArtGallery.com.

Daysis Sanchez

As a member of the Sanchez family of ceramic artists, Daysis Sanchez shares the talent and work ethic that has brought the Sanchez family so much success.





Daysis’ expertise is in intricate geometric patterns, incised work or scraffito, and painted work utilizing Escher-like designs. Her incised work exhibits carefully defined outlines, and her whole-vessel geometric patterns are perfectly executed with remarkable attention to detail.





The color combinations of her painted vessels include a complementary and saturated palette, and emphasize the swirling counterpoint of the geometric patterns.












Daysis' work is available from her home on the outskirts of San Juan de Oriente, and at www.NicaArtGallery.com.

Dionisio Carballo - Cathedrals of the Imagination

Above, one of the many intricate cathedral miniatures of ceramic created by Dionisio Carballo. This particular cathedral miniature is of the front of the Masaya cathedral. This work measures approximately 12" high X 18" long.

Cathedral miniatures are also made by other ceramic artists in San Juan de Oriente, featuring unique fronts of cathedrals around the country.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Having seen the real things, it is easy to recognize these sculptures as modern day replicas.







Still, they are interesting, and are produced in enough quantity that large numbers of buyers exist! These were found in San Juan de Oriente, otherwise known as the pottery capital of Nicaragua!

Zapatera Statues

Zapatera is a shield volcano in Lago Colcibolca (Lake Nicaragua), about an hour by boat from Granada. Although its last eruption is unknown, there are lots of other types of excitement available for those who want to make the trip. The volcano forms what is known as La Isla Zapatera, the 2nd largest island in Lago Colcibolca, after Ometepe Island.

It is generally accepted that the island was inhabited by the Chorotegas, an indigenous tribe, one of the pre-columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. The earliest petroglyphs and ceramics date from various periods, some as old as 500 AD, while most dating between 800-1350 AD.

Right: "The Devil", anthropomophic statue, sitting human figure with an enormous head and big eyes, from Pensacola or La Marota, discovered by Ephraim George Squier, in 1849.














Today's post features a group of black basalt sculptures from Zapatera Island, which are today located in the San Francisco Convent Cultural Center in Granada (also known as part of the Casa de los Tres Mundos). They are known as the Squire Zapatera Collection, and are part of the permanent collection of the Cultural Center.

The first description of the Zapatera archaeological finds was by U.S. diplomat Ephraim George Squire. Between 1849 and the early 1850's he explored the area, and in 1852 published a monograph called "Nicaragua: its people and its landscapes. His drawings of the many various statues of different sizes and forms, of many petroglyphs were included in this monograph, which is now considered a classic volume on the archaeological history of Zapatera Island.


"Moctezuma", double statue of human figure with lizard or cayman on its head. From Zonzapote, Zapatera Island, discovered by Bovallius in 1883.















Decades later, inspired by Squire's work, Carl Bovallius, a Swedish naturalist began his own explorations, and discovered 25 statues in the area known as Sonzapote (in the northeastern part of the island), and petroglyphs in the La Ceiba islet. His discoveries were published in a work in 1886 in English on the archaeology of Nicaragua called "Nicaragua Antiquities", and a in large work in Swedish in 1887 called "Resa I Central America". The labels in the San Francisco Convent Cultural Center call him: "A pro-American and a humanist with a great personality, he is no doublt on e the the most outstanding [Swedes] who traveled through Latin American at the end of the last century."

Right: Double statue, sitting masculine human figure holding an anthropomorphic figure on its head, discovered by Joaquin Gomez.















Later, a third report by Mexican scholar Felipe Pardines was published through various articles at the end of the 1930’s. He reported petroglyphs on the El Muerte Island, and he made different drawings than the ones published by Squier and Bovallius. More recently a book written by Jorge Eduardo Arellano was published, called "The Squier-Zapatera Collection: Study of Pre-Hispanic Statues".

The photo at the opening of this post shows the magnificent hall of Zapatera statues at the San Francisco Convent Cultural Center in Granada. These 28 statues, carved of black basalt, measure between 3 feet to 6 feet in height, and give the impression of brooding and monumental spirits. The most representative form of these sculptures is that of a human being associated with an animal. The association of a human with an animal is traditionally interpreted as an individual and its alter ego or "other self". In some cases, the animal may represent the human's protector or its "particular totem". This interpretation is commonly accepted in the descriptions of Middle and South American statuary.

Left: "The Lizard", double statue, sitting human masculine figure, with head of lizard on top of it. From Zonzapote, Zapatera Island, discovered by Bovallius, 1883.

















It is speculated that these statues represent gods or social leaders like Indian chiefs, warriors, or priests. A large part of them was found surrounded by a small hillock of soil and stones, with the back of the statue facing the center. It is therefore assumed that these sites were once ceremonial centers or sanctuaries, where sacrifices were possibly made. Regardless of the specific use and interpretation, the Zapatera Island sites represent a phenomenal national archaeological treasure, and point to Zapatera Island as the center of a significant indigenous Meso-American culture and spiritual tradition spanning hundreds of years. While Zapatera Island is now protected as a national park, the mysterious past exhibited in the findings on Zapatera Island are worthy of more much more study and investigation, and should be protected as part of Nicaragua's national heritage.

Because these mysterious stone titans form such a central part of Nicaragua's heritage, it was inevitable that the country's most famous literary figure, the poet Ruben Dario, who died in 1916, would have reflected on them. ''The great idols have the air of oriental stone gods,'' Dario wrote. ''They represent supernatural beings, coarsely sculpted in obscure basalt monoliths by the hands of fetishists.''

Helping Family

Last year, we had an experience in Managua that was both terrible and comforting. We were robbed of a significant amount of our US cash, and were subsequently cared for and comforted by a very wonderful Nicaraguan family who had witnessed the robbery.

We certainly learned our lesson about where and when to change money from US $ to Nicaraguan cordobas. We drove up to the grocery store, La Colonia, at La Plaza Espana near la Rotonda el Gueguense at dusk. The usual older lady wasn't there, but we were really desperate for cash, so stopped and started to talk with a young man. He aggressively wanted to change our money for us, and reached into the car to take the money from my husband's hands. This tipped us off, but it was too late. We struggled with him, all of our hands holding on the the dollars for dear life! But he had a better angle and strong hands, and suddenly our cash was gone.

He had been waiting for suckers just like us! Apparently he and 3 other men had planned it all, and quickly jumped into a waiting taxi and fled the scene. We were very upset, needless-to-say, and realized we brought it on ourselves by going into an obviously questionable situation.

But, in the end, we met a wonderful Nicaraguan family though this experience. They had witnessed the whole event, and came to our aid, first by simply giving us the details of what they had witnessed, and then commiserating with our loss. They realized how upset I was, and counseled that I shouldn't be driving in my upset condition. Then they offered to guide us to the police station to report the crime, so off we went to find the station. One of the sons translated for us as best as he could. Of course, it wasn't very productive, since the police were not particularly interested and we couldn't provide much information about the thieves. I was given albums of photos of known thieves, and tried to identify any familiar faces. Neither my husband nor I could really remember the face of the thief, so we weren't able to provide any details. But the young man who was with us, Francisco, was really insistent about filing the report, and he and his mother, brothers and sister stayed with us the entire time. When we finally said good-bye later, it must have been midnight! They had been so comforting and sympathetic, and I hoped I could someday do something for them.

The next day, a good friend, Roberto, took an entire morning off from work to accompany us to the Medical Crimes office, and helped us through the bureaucracy there. I felt that my injuries (bruises and scrapes) were so minor compared to what we saw in the waiting room. I could only imagine the events and experiences behind some of the injuries in the waiting room with us.

It was an interesting, if expensive, experience, and reinforced for us the goodness in people even among negative events.

I guess the morals are: 1. Don't try to change money at dusk at a location where you don't know the money-changer! Simple and obvious safety precautions that I will pay attention to forever more! And 2. Good kind people are everywhere. Language is no barrier to sympathy, kindness and dedication to integrity.

Abel Vargas - Painter of Blue Water Scenes

This is an inviting view of Ometepe Island through the lush greenery of Lake Nicaragua. Painted by Abel Vargas.

Granada's History Murals

My single trip to the Casa de los Tres Mundos in Granada left me with overwhelming visions of the fascinating history, contemporary art, social and cultural trends, and archaeology of Nicaragua. One lovely feature just as you enter the building is a set of murals running along the wall of a colonnaded walk-way surrounding the a grassy central courtyard. The murals depict various stages of the growth of Granada, beginning with the pre-columbian period and extending to the era of the American fillibustering imperialist General Walker in the 1850's. Each stage is annotated with a quote from a source from the period.

Although the murals do not seem to be dated (or at least I didn't readily see a date), they were undertaken with the support of the Nicaraguan government, the Nicaraguan Institute of Culture and the government of Italy. The primary artist is listed as Maestro Maurizio Governatori (perhaps Italian?), with the collaboration of five other contributors and with the special contributions of Dr. Jorge Eduardo Arellano. In addition 4 students of the National School of Plastic Arts were involved. It must have been a really exciting project to work on -- from the research to the planning of the murals to the execution!

The murals bear the main title of "Historia de la Construccion de la Ciudad de Granada". Each individual section of the mural has its own title as well.


1. "Asentamiento Aborigen (1200-1523)" (left)



















2. "Etapa Fundacional (1524-1539)" (right)



















3. "Expansion Colonizadora (1540-1600)" (left)


















4. "Auge Comercial" (right)






















5. "Ataques Piraticos, Recuperacion y Defensas Militares (1665-1811)" (left)
















6. "Independencia y Guerras Civiles (1812-1855)" (right)

There seemed to be no mural associated with the 7th quote, called "Incendio Filibustero (1856)".

Francisco Calero's Cat Vases

Lots of people love cats. Francisco Calero, an established potter in San Juan de Oriente outside of Masaya, Nicaragua, has taken this to heart, and designed several vases with cat motifs.











When I've brought these pots back to the US to sell, they go like hotcakes!














He makes them in a variety of colors, and in a soft spherical shape or a partially compressed square shape. I usually waterproof them using masonry sealant on the interior (it takes several coats), so that they can be used for either live plant material or silk and dried material. They are always a wonderful gift for the special cat lover!

Juan Sanchez & His Container with Cut Opening

Juan Sanchez, the young ceramic artist that I have profiled in a previous post ( June 4, 2008), comes up with some really interesting designs.
His experimentation leads to unusual pots, including the one featured in today's post.

This beautiful polychromatic work takes a common shape, moves the mouth to one side and then creates an opening across the top that complements the painted surface design and the overall form of the vessel. Juan has produced a number of this particular pot, perfecting his design and cut opening technique on each successive container. He now has a gallery quality work of art, featuring his unique color palate and his unusual vessel form. In addition to these unique design elements, Juan has added the use of black sand to the mouth and the swirling arcs, as well as to the bottom half of the pot. The work is signed on the bottom.

Juan and his family of siblings are a very creative and productive clan -- I can hardly wait to return to their workshop on the outskirts of San Juan de Oriente to see what they are coming up with next!

Baroque Religious Statuary

Above, Archangel San Rafael, polychromatic wood carving

During the Colonial period in Nicaragua, from the early 16th century to the early 19th century, many cathedrals, chapels, shrines and sanctuaries were built, especially in Granada, and supplied with religious statuary from Spain. Although Nicaragua did not have established schools dedicated to the training of religious sculptors, there were many friars, carpenters, carvers and joiners who became specialists with great expertise. In general the products of these artisans were a mixture of indigenous and mestizo styles, mimicking Spanish treatment of carved fabric folds and draping in wood, but painted with bright, festive colors of the indigenous palate. Often anatomical proportions were not observed, resulting in figures with shorter bodies and larger heads.


Above left, San Antonio de Padua, polychromatic wood sculpture. San Antonio de Padua is often portrayed with the baby Jesus in his arms. He was born of a noble family in Portugal, but despite his privileged background, joined a monastery. He is commonly known as the patron of all lost items.

Above right, San Pedro, polychromatic wood sculpture. My on-line research indicates that San Pedro was a poor shepherd of Guatemalan origin born in 1619. He attempted to enter the Jesuit priesthood, but with little formal education, was not successful at the Jesuit college in Guatemala City. He then took private vows, and became a Francisan tertiary. He later opened a hospital for the poor, shelters for the homeless, schools for poor children. Pedro built and shrines in the poor sections of the city, and is sometimes credited with originating the Christmas Eve posadas procession in which people representing Mary and Joseph seek a night's lodging from their neighbors. He is the first canonized Guatemalan native.

The wooden statues in today's post are in the museum of the Old San Francisco Convent Cultural Center in Granada.

Send Your Stories & Pictures!

There are so many wonderful stories to write about Nicaragua! But my photo inventory is running low! Please send your photos and ideas for stories. I will happily add them to the NicaPOD blog with full attribution to you.

When I get enough cash to come back to Nicaragua, I'll renew my inventory of photos and experiences -- but all the visitors to NicaPOD are depending on YOU now.

Please send even rough ideas and thoughts for new stories -- there are so many tales to tell out there! I can fill in, edit, re-write, conduct interviews via email, etc. Just don't be shy -- we need the stories and experiences of everyone!

Thanks to everyone who has sent stories in the past, and to those who want to send some soon!

Your story editor, Vera

PS: The photo today is taken on the ferry from San Jorge to Moyagalpa on Ometepe Island. I was in the lower section of the ferry looking out one of the windows. The photo shows how we were rocking and rolling on the water, although it wasn't enough to make anyone sick, thank goodness!

Los Bucaneros!

On various trips between Managua and Masaya, I stopped at a restaurant called Los Bucaneros!







It is situated just on the edge of Lago Masaya, and has a fabulous view of the lake and the volcanic plain around Volcan Masaya.






Here are some of the great vistas, and some images of the restaurant cum resort.



Notice the beautiful murals on the walls of the building in the photo to the right.













Right, from the pool, one can gaze across the volcanic plains surrounding Volcan Masaya!