Estelí (Capital City)
Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí, also known as Estelí (pronounced [esteˈli] in Spanish), is a city and municipality in the Estelí department. With an estimated 111,244 urban residents (2022), its municipality is highly urbanized (84.8%), making it the eighth largest city in Nicaragua. Known as "the Diamond of the Segovia" (a moniker used by Oscar Corea Molina in his radio program "Trampolin 43"), it is also the de facto capital of the north and the eighth-largest municipality in the region.
Estelí, a rapidly developing and forward-thinking city, is situated 150 kilometers north of Managua on the Pan-American Highway. With a mean elevation of 844 meters (2769 feet) above sea level, it is situated in the north central highlands and enjoys a good climate for the most of the year. with addition, the city is encircled by plateaus up to 1600 meters above sea level, some of which are designated as natural reserves, and mountains covered with pine, oak, and walnut forests.
History
The first settlement of what would become the City of Esteli occurred in Villa Vieja in 1685. It was founded by a group of Spaniards fleeing Nueva Segovia which at that time suffered from pirate attacks. Villa Vieja was then replaced by a new settlement (San Antonio de Pavia) from where the city of Esteli has grown. Today there is evidence of the first church in the Villa Vieja sector of the city.
"A little town in a small plain through which winds the river of the same name..." is how the town was characterized in 1858. According to the description, it has a grist mill and "the country produces considerable wheat of medium quality."
In 1920, Esteli was characterized as a thriving, affluent city with 8,000 residents.
From 1978 to 1979, Estelí saw intense warfare in the civil war against the Somoza regime. The FSLN rebels burned the city, reducing many of its structures to rubble, while the regime's National Guard heavily air-bombed the city. About 15,000 people were killed, many of them young people who were killed on suspicion of participating in the uprising as a result of anti-government guerillas from Nicaragua's Pacific region infiltrating the city and using it as a battlefield. The Government Palace and the Teatro Montenegro were among the buildings that Estelí repaired, but some may still have bullet holes in them.
Economy
The land around Estelí is perfect for growing tobacco for use in cigars, and the town became a refuge for Cuban cigar makers after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Award-winning cigars have made Estelí one of the most important cigar-producing cities in the world. Estelí also has many language schools. Restaurants and hotels cater to tourists traveling to nearby natural reserves and other parts of the region. Natural Reserves around the area include Miraflor, Tisey-Estanzuela, Las Brisas-Quiabuc, Tomabú, Tepesomoto, and Moropotente.
Out of 143 municipalities in ten Latin American countries, the municipality of Estelí ranks first and second in terms of quality and efficiency to obtain a construction permit and municipal operating license, respectively, according to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation's Municipal Scorecard 2008, which is a supplement to the annual Doing Business report. Esteli's performance has improved since it placed fifth out of 65 municipalities across five nations in the 2007 Municipal Scorecard.
Infrastructure
With nearly 100% population coverage, Estelí boasts the best water delivery system in the nation. Additionally, it offers comprehensive sewage disposal coverage.
Although there are now no airfields in Esteli, at least three have been constructed there over the years. From 1930 to 1934, when TACA launched the service to transport passengers on an El Salvador-Tegucigalpa-Danli-Ocotal-Esteli-Managua route, one of the earliest airfields ever recorded served as an alternate airport. The second airstrip was constructed at La Thompson, three miles north of Estelí, and was utilized by a business called "Thonsson Corwell" to help finish a section of the Pan-American Highway. Originally constructed in the 1980s on the town's north end, the third airstrip has since been urbanized.
A plan was made in 1950 to build a train branch from Esteli to Matagalpa, which would eventually link the city to other regions of the nation, such as Managua and Prinzapolka Port in the Caribbean.
A railroad extension from El Sauce to the north via Estelí was attempted in 1940. In order to take the train up to Esteli along the Aquespalapa or Villanueva river, which rises in the Quiabuc mountains, thirteen kilometers of rail, the town of Río Grande, and a railroad bridge were constructed; however, the project was abandoned.
Sport
One of the most prosperous and well-liked football teams in the nation, Real Estelí, often known as "El Tren del Norte" (or "The Train of the North"), is based in Estelí. Oscar Corea Molina came up with the name Estadio Independencia, where they play their home games. Real Estelí Baloncesto is a member of the Americas Basketball Champions League.
One of only three cities in the nation having both a professional baseball team and a professional football (soccer) team is Estelí, which is also home to a professional baseball franchise. With the assistance of former major league players like Porfi Altamirano and Albert Williams, Estelí had one of the top baseball teams in the nation throughout the 1970s and competed in the "Roberto Clemente" baseball tournament.
Estelí also relies on Real Estelí Ciclismo, a professional cycling team that has won championships and is affiliated with the Cycling Federation of Nicaragua. The Cycling Federation of El Salvador hosted the Europa Tour 2019 cycling competition in San Salvador, El Salvador, in May 2019, and Real Estelí took first place in the Elite group. The team also won second place in the Master B category.
Gastromony
Because of its elevation, Estelí can get very cold at night or in the morning, and it can get significantly colder in the winter. As a result, Estelí's cuisine, like that of all Nicaragua's northern mountain districts, is based on a robust mountain diet that includes beef, game, veal, rabbit, geese, sausages, and substantial soups such albóndiga, queso, res, and others. Milk goods like smoked or spicy cheeses like picante and ahumado, as well as regional corn-based foods like tasty montucas, salty-sour repochetas, and semi-sweet güirilas, are consumed in large quantities. Chorizo, refried beans, sour cream, and homemade bread are more typical breakfast options, and black coffee is the best beverage to have at any time of day. Cususa, a clear alcoholic beverage, is also drank despite being prohibited, particularly in small cantinas (bars) or on the outskirts of the city.
Notable People
- Pedro X. Molina. Award-winning cartoonist. Recently won first place in the Concours international d'arts visuels Juste pour rire in the category of « Dessin humoristique », etc.
- Clara Isabel Alegría Vides, born in Esteli, is a Nicaraguan poet, essayist, novelist, and journalist who is a major voice in the literature of contemporary Central America. She writes under the pseudonym Claribel Alegría.[2] She was awarded the 2006 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and the Premio Reina Sofia (Queen Sofia Award) in November 2017.
- Frank Pineda, born in Estelí, Nicaragua, is a Nicaraguan filmmaker, producer, director of photography, and cameraman. He was a founding member of INCINE (Instituto Nicaraguense de Cine), the Nicaraguan Institute of Cinema, and co-founded with his partner, the French filmmaker Florence Jaugey, Camila Films (Nicaragua) an independent film production company.
- Ramón Otoniel Olivas, Nicaraguan international footballer and national team manager.
Credits: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/
More information about this destination may follow soon. Please contact us on suggestions@visitnicaragua.org to make a suggestion or to suggest verifiable corrections about this destination. You are also welcome to send your photos of this destination to suggestions@visitnicaragua.org, remember to include the name of the area where the photos was taken as well as your contact details on the email.