Oyanka

These birds have personality! I found them at a home accessories shop called Oyanka in the Bolonia neighborhood of Managua. They are metal sculptures, and unfortunately I don't know who the artist is. If anyone is aware of the artist's name, please let me know (vera@nicaartgallery.com).


I found Oyanka because of a series of postcards that they publish and set out at various coffee shops, in particular at Casa del Cafe at Metro Centro in downtown Managua. Casa del Cafe has a lot of ceramics, baskets, and other sculpture on display and for sale that come through Oyanka.

The postcards indicate that Oyanka is a major exporter of handcrafted home accessories from Nicaragua. They organize and support producer groups throughout the country and perform services such as product design development, clustering and monitoring of production, management of delivery schedules, maintaining quality control, and management of packaging, documentation and shipping.

The young lady whom I chatted with allowed me to take these photos, and invited me back to talk with the owner later. Unfortunately, that later never came -- it will have to wait for another trip to Managua!







The last address I have for them is Bolonia, Aval Card, 3 c. al oeste. Telefono: 266-5080. Does anyone know any more about this gallery/business?

If anyone learns any more, please let me know!

Hari's Grill

This is the wonderful restaurant called Hary's Grill on C. Masaya, just across from the new Galeria Santo Domingo. I don't know how long it has been there, but probably quite a while based on the myriad photos on the entry walls of the owners with friends and the famous! It specializes in Argentinian food, and the steaks are so tender and delicious. I also love their side dish of plain rice (must be my Japanese background), and their refrescos zanahorias (fresh orange & carrot juice drink). We went there as much as we could afford to (it's a little pricey!), and began to get to know the waiters, who were extremely kind and solicitous.

One has a choice whether to be seated indoors or outdoors. We always choose the indoors for the air conditioning, but the tables outside on the veranda were lovely.










All the meat is cooked to order on a huge grill outside, and you can watch it sizzle if you want to by walking around the veranda. Surrounded by a beautiful lawn and garden, it's an ideal place to wind down and relax in the delightful Nicaraguan evening!

Ikebana & Nicaraguan Pottery

There can hardly be two more different cultures than the Japanese and the Nicaraguan. Both contribute to the human cultural landscape in unique ways. Below is an arrangement of "ikebana" or Japanese flower arranging, by Allie Marie Uyehara (my mother) using a container created by Nicaraguan ceramic artist Francisco Calero of San Juan de Oriente.


My mother learned the ancient and venerable art of "Ikebana" or Japanese flower arranging while in Japan from 1955-57, when our family moved there for my father, Cecil Uyehara, to pursue research supported by the Ford Foundation. Since that time, Mom has been studying and teaching Ikebana, and organizing chapters of Ikebana International (of which she is a charter member and officer) around the world.

In the arrangement above, she was demonstrating how to make an arrangement that emphasizes the container rather than the flowers. She worked with the colors of the container to coordinate the other elements of the arrangement, without overpowering the container.

The arrangement to the left also uses a container by Nicaraguan artist Francisco Calero, and again the goal of the arrangement is to emphasize the beauty of the container.

Both of the containers created here by Sr. Calero draw on the past -- inspired by pre-Columbian and Southwest US Indian styles.

Both of these arrangements illustrate how links between cultures can create beauty that elevates both societies. It is interesting to note that Japan is very active in providing foreign aid to Nicaragua. Between 1975 and 2004, Nicaragua has received ¥413.6 in cultural aid alone from Japan (http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/nicaragua/index.html). And maybe you have noticed the many sidewalk signs in various cities sporting a red circle on a white background next to trash cans, part of a project by Japan in Nicaragua to reduce trash on the streets.

In addition a group of Japanese medical personnel volunteered published an extremely useful and beautiful book on primitivist artists and paintings (such as the one to the right) of Nicaragua. It provides a short history of primitivist art in Nicaragua, and then includes copies of hundreds of paintings by Nicaraguan artists. Nicaraguan artist Julie Aguirre and Padre Ernesto Cardenal were instrumental in collecting and contributing to this book.