On April 15, 1929, Puerto Cabezas was named with the rank of municipality; later, by Legislative Decree, the municipal seat adopted the name of Bilwi.
Artistic expressions and manifestations
Music / Dances
King Pulanka: (Game of the king), is a dance alluding to the Miskitu reign and is the most popular and most traditional in the municipality of Bilwi. This dance was carried out in January and part of February, as a reminiscence of the sacred tree called "suha", promises are made and they announce good harvests, a lot of food and what people want to obtain.
The tradition consists of the concentration of all the community, around the festivities, where children's games, masked games are developed, they prepare and drink "misla" accompanied by luk luk, a typical meal prepared with beef and cassava.
SihkruTara (Ceremony in memory of the dead): Binational Festival between Honduras and Nicaragua. It is an event of great significance for the Miskito people, since it is a religious ritual performed in honor of deceased loved ones.
PlatRole, Ribbon Pole (Stick of ribbons), in the Creole people: ancestral dance where God is asked to bless the rain for crops and plants in general. It is a tribute to fertility and heralded new crops, suckers, new life and gratitude for the May rains.
Music: there are traditional musical groups in the communities that participate in the city in the municipality's traditional cultural events, but there is also a great variety of Miskito music singers who perform various mixtures of musical genres within Miskito music are Chelmor Calderón, Tony Miller and Leo Dhube; Among the groups that mix Afro-descendant music, Grupo Santos Vans and Grupo Karma.
SihkruTara
Dance: in each community and neighborhoods of the city there are dance groups of different ethnic groups; standing out the groups of the Miskita ethnic group; also the Creole and mestizo ethnic group, have their dance groups that represent them in the activities and traditional festivities of the municipality and other places of the regional and national scope. We can mention the groups of Esperanza White, Rockie, Fidu, Sunshine, Cium Bicu, Uraccan, Movimiento Leonel Rugama and traditional groups from Cocal among the best known.
Painter sculptor
August Silva: painter and muralist, of coastal origin, has participated in group and individual exhibitions, nationally and internationally; Its brushstrokes are unmistakable, its themes highlight the culture and way of life of the people of the Caribbean Coast.
Abner Morales Coleman: works oil on canvas, acrylic, pastel chalk and charcoal on paper. He has participated in exhibitions and in the Painting Contest in 2011 organized by the Culture Secretariat of the Regional Government of the Raccn where he was awarded first place. He has collaborated in the creation of collective and own murals.
Luis Arana Market: A painter of the daily life of his town and of his native land, he loves colors, but his passion is black and white, “that's how I am weaving my dots and lines, which take on a life of their own, in the combination of light and shadow of my nibs in black and white ”. He has participated in group and individual exhibitions, locally and nationally.
Apolinar Lopez: local painter who has participated in exhibitions in the area. Creator of the murals that adorn the Catholic church in the city of Bilwi.
Miguel Angel: An outstanding sculptor, he expresses that his sculpture and wooden handicrafts are pieces of the Miskito culture; the art of sculpting wood is inherited from his paternal grandfather. The sculptures and crafts they make represent the daily life and culture of their municipality.
Wilfred Johnson: works oil on canvas, wood and also draws graphite. He has participated in group exhibitions, likes experimentation, seeks impressionism on interesting textures that he creates with wood and earth resin. Its main theme is Afro-descendant women.
Craft trades
coconut craft
Crafts
Handicrafts in tuno: elaboration of traditional costumes for dance groups, shoes, hats, bags, paintings, drawings and other products.
Nury Porto; cell: 87473903.
Sylvia Zamora. Recycling, tissue, tuno, Cell: 88240855.
Coconut crafts: Taking advantage of coconut, they make different types of ornaments and jewelry.
Fernando Lopez, coconut, tortoiseshell and coral handicraft and jewelry design; cell: 55013825.
Medina Benedict, manufacture of crafts and jewelry made of coconut, tortoiseshell and coral.
Becky Lopez, makes crafts and jewelry from coconut, tortoiseshell and coral.
Acuna Renales, coconut, tortoiseshell and coral handicrafts and jewelery making; cell: 86395610.
Ramsey, coconut, tortoiseshell and coral handicrafts and jewelry; cell: 89388458.
Genaro Padilla, creation of handicrafts and jewelry made of coconut, tortoiseshell and coral; cell: 5817483.
Handmade jewelery: made from fish scales, sea shells and light wood collected from the beach.
Yamileth Zacarias: elaboration of crafts based on recycling, sani and papta. Contact: 87045424/88476025.
Dario Salgado: varied crafts. Contact: 58359969.
Lenin Simon: shell-based crafts. Contact: 87051182.
Antonio Pictan: crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral. Contact: 83359991.
Alexander Plymenth: craft factory based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral.
Jose Santos Downs: makes crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral; and recycled paper jewelry. Contact: 8910 2099 or through Hotel Caribe Tel: 2792 1892.
Wood crafts
Obencio Simons: makes crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral. Contact: 88583634.
Inna Reyes: crafting based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral
Hilary Pictan: crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral. Contact: 89434387.
Martha Macklin: designs crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral. Contact: 87431868.
Ruth Matamorros and Dennis Salomón: Each one, in turn, makes crafts based on coconut, tortoiseshell and coral.
Fishing crafts: elaboration of a net with nylon threads, to store or transport basic grains, fish, coconut, etc. Before, it was made with vines or the bark of the capulín tree in the community of Tuapí, in the northern plain.
Wood crafts: they make different products
Legend
Witika (Owner of the forest or mountain), Miskito People, Dujindu or Swinta (goblin), Miskito People, Lasa Saura (Evil Spirit), Latawira (Anima in pain), Liwa Mairin (The mermaid), Uhlak, Unta Dukia Prahaku, El Patás and Anancy Story.
Local character who have contributed to the history and culture of the town
Avelino Cox: Miskito historian, for more than 30 years he has given his knowledge and knowledge of his people, has published 10 books on traditions and knowledge.
Other sites of historical and cultural interest
Judith Kain House Museum: It has four exhibition rooms where different themes related to the culture of different ethnic groups are exhibited, dance, music, ethnographic collections of the history and culture of the municipality, paintings by local artists and murals, photographic exhibitions, regional processes of the Coast Caribbean, among other topics.
In this House Museum painting classes are given to children on Saturdays. It was declared Cultural Heritage of Puerto Cabezas on December 16, 2000.
Tuapi indigenous community: its economy based on fishing, hunting and gathering of fruits. In the center of the community there is a small cemetery where the tombs of the first Moravian missionaries are located.
Krukira Community
Krulipa indigenous community: There you can see the tombs of the legendary Miskitu hero, Sam Pitts, a direct descendant of King William Pitts, once King of the Miskitu.
Haulover Indigenous Community: It is a strip of land that divides the front with the Caribbean Sea and behind with the lagoon. He lives from artisanal fishing. It was founded in 1860 by the missionaries of the Moravian church of German origin, they baptized it with the name of Epharata Houlover, today only Houlover, it means “Pull on”. The majority of the population is Miskito. In this community they make artisan drums and their main dances are: the king pulanka and sirpiki mairin, their gastronomy is based on seafood.
Wawa indigenous community: retains its ancestral form of communal government made up of the Trustee, Wihta and the Council of Elders, who are in charge of communal decisions and the representation of their community before municipal and regional authorities. The villagers practice artisanal fishing and mesh making.
Karata indigenous community: Miskita, the name of Karata comes from a plant that existed at the tip of the community called “kara”, which was used to sew clothes, now extinct. Practice artisanal harpoon fishing.
The Pier: Here you will observe beautiful sunsets, you will see the boats and fishermen in the area, go ahead and visit this place and its surroundings. Located in the urban area of the municipality. Also visit the Guillandia Pier, in which you can recreate yourself.
Gallery
Tourist Offer Map