Polychrome Ceramic
About 4000 years ago they came to the Ometepe Island the first settlers in boats made of a single trunk and began permanent settlements taking advantage of their fertile lands and their abundant nature next to the freshwater lake.
Those first settlers were possibly ancestors of the current Guatusos, later the Chorotegas arrived around the year 800 AD.
The first settlers of Altagracia were the Chibchas, descendants of the Chorotegas and Nagrandanos. All these tribes lived on the coasts of the municipality such as: San Miguel, Culco, Taguizapa, Calaiza, San Silvestre and Cerro Maderas (surroundings).
An abundance of monochrome and polychrome ceramic objects have also been found, as well as petroglyphs, of which more than 2,000 cave art motifs have been documented, represented in the rocks of numerous places in the municipality.
Since the arrival of the Spanish in Nicaragua in 1520 to 1600, there have been great invasions by French and English pirates, dedicating themselves to the looting of the wealth of the indigenous settlers who were located on the coasts of the Island of Ometepe.
As a result of these invasions, the indigenous people were forced to emigrate to the long slopes of the Concepción Volcano, giving rise to the neighborhoods of Astagalpa (Altagracia) and Cotzingalpa (Moyogalpa), which formed the "Big Town of Ometepe".
Artistic expressions, music and traditional dances
Rock sculpture
Dance and Theater: This municipality is the only one where the Dance of the Zompopo. Traditional folk dance groups practice much of the year to show off their passionate dance during traditional festivals and on the occasion of fairs and local government events, as well as participation in other cities in the country.
Three groups are the most prominent: Xochililli Folk Dance, Oasis of Peace of the community of San José del Sur and a community group. With their art, they allow visitors to enjoy the dance traditions of the Island.
Music: Altagracia has produced many outstanding musicians who formed various groups and orchestras since the late XNUMXth century.
Descendant of these musicians is the renowned composer and interpreter Julio Guillén Gómez and his brother Harold who plays the trumpet, organ and rod trombone, have taught music since the 1990s to small bands formed by local youth.
Other musicians are Rodolfo Guillen Ramos, a Bulgarian music graduate; the teacher Alfonso Barrios; Rafael Cruz and Agustín Ruiz Guzmán who play guitar and marimba, as well as brothers Jaime and Jonatán Vargas who play guitar and trumpet.
The Atabal, It is particularly significant in the Altagracia culture, especially in the festivities that include the Dance of the Zompopos and when, due to an emergency, the active forces of the town must be quickly summoned to jointly resolve a specific situation.
Painters and sculptors: The outstanding visual artists have focused on the theme of primitivism and regionalism, among them are the oil-on-canvas painters, Yasser Guzmán from the community of San Marcos and Silvio Rosales from Altagracia, as well as the sculptor René Ortiz.
Salvador Guillen, plastic artist and poet from the community of San Marcos, as a painter, prefers the oil-on-canvas technique. On his canvases he captures the seductive landscape of the Island.
Traditional crafts and crafts
In this municipality, traditional industrial activities have their roots in labor practices inherited from indigenous groups. The Pull community is characterized by the production of ceramic objects for domestic use, made by family workshops, where women are responsible for craftsmanship. Its production includes pots, griddles, plates and other objects of daily use.
Ceramic Pots
The fine wood is used to make anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, which are offered as interior and exterior decorations.
Other parts of the local flora are also exploited for local crafts, in the manufacture of figures formed in the bark and shell of the coconut tree. The most striking reasons for this practice come from the El Perú community and from Agustín Ruiz, who makes figures of monkeys, birds and pieces of body decoration.
The volcanic stone sculptures are an artisan novelty in this municipality, which takes advantage of materials from the Concepción Volcano, particularly those from the October 2014 eruption, to make attractive rock figures.
One of the artisans who takes advantage of this type of materials, since 2000, is Naun Álvarez. Likewise, Pablo Alvarado, from the community of Mérida, imitates in an excellent way the great pre-Hispanic sculptures in basalt rock, similar to those made by the natives and also in rocks of less hardness.
An unusual trade is making rowing boats or "boats". Mr. Anastasio “Tano” Álvarez from the community of Taguizapa works as a “botero”, as he is popularly called in the locality.
If you want to know up close and do a little tcultural urism you can visit the Crafts workshop of Don Narciso and his wife Doña Petrona, located in the community of Pullman, a small hamlet at a distance of a kilometer and a half from Altagracia. You will find beautiful samples of art embodied in the polychrome ceramic works that preserve the cultural heritage of our ancestors.
The oral tradition of Altagracia
Princess Ometepetl: the story tells that there were two rival tribes in Rivas: Nagrando and Dirianes. The princess of the Nagrando fell in love with the son of the enemy chief and was in secret with her lover. When the news broke, her people and her own father sentenced her to death. Before they executed her, the groom arrived at the Nagrando camp at night, evaded the surveillance and rescued her. When they left, the warriors who were chasing them cornered them a few kilometers later and the lovers, seeing themselves without alternative, decided to immolate themselves.
The gods were saddened and sent rains that formed Lake Cocibolca in that place and the princess's breasts grew and formed two volcanic cones on Ometepe Island. The body of the groom gave rise to the nearby island, Zapatera, and the warriors who were pursuing them formed an archipelago, Solentiname. The musician, Julio Guillen, put music to this story.
Altagracia Museum
Lights: local grandparents say that on dark nights in rural farms lights of different colors are observed. People attribute meanings to different hues, such as: yellow means gold; green, death and white to diamond.
Points of historical-cultural interest that you must visit
Altagracia Museum: Also called Municipal Museum, it is a center of cultural attraction for the exhibition of materials that collect an important part of the archeology and history of Ometepe. It was founded in 1994 and contains three rooms: environment, archeology and ethnology.
The collection of great local importance, includes paintings allusive to indigenous customs, ceramic vessels and pre-Hispanic lithic instruments, cinerary urns, as well as some rocks with petroglyphs and a complete monumental pre-Hispanic sculpture. For those interested in studying Altagracia's cultural heritage, it is an indispensable reference.
If you need to document or read something of your interest, you can do it in the Museum Library which has the largest collection of books in the municipality. Ideal for researching historical, cultural and geographical aspects, particularly for primary and secondary school students.
The Library is located next to the Municipal Mayor's Office and is open from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon.
Petroglyph Sites
Future: on the grounds surrounding the Ecological hotel El porvenir You can see about 20 sets of petroglyphs with anthropomorphic and geometric motifs, among which a large circular design with the appearance of a pre-Hispanic calendar stands out. All these rocks are protected with tile roofs.
El Corozal Site: It is a place with several sets of petroglyphs, sculpted in the form of zoomorphic, anthropomorphic figures or geometric designs. Among the designs, the representation of the Sun and concentric crosses is striking. It has been suggested that it is a ceremonial site of the ancient population that occupied the Island.
El Guineo Site: It is a rocky beach in which there are more than 100 rocks engraved with more than 400 rock motifs. Most of the rocks recorded are on the beach and others in intertidal areas and some underwater. The geometric motifs stand out but the animal and anthropomorphic representations are of great naturalism like a lizard two meters long.
Magdalena Farm Site: It is an agrotourism farm that has trails to the Maderas Volcano and in addition to hiking to the petroglyphs in which there are more than 150 engraved rocks. The geometric motifs stand out much the spirals, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures. On the farm there are many more petroglyphs that are found outside of the trails. Among the most relevant designs are the Magnificent stone and the representation of the fertility of Women.
Leading figures of the history and culture of Altagracia
Altagracia Museum
Julio Guillen Gomez: fruitful musician and renowned composer and performer, he is a notable representative of the music and culture of Altagracia. He graduated from the National Conservatory of Music in the 60s.
He has built a deep imprint on a number of young disciples. His musical production full of mischief is about 60 of his own songs, which carry themes inspired by his love of culture, nature, the daily life of local people.
Manuel Hamilton Silva Monge: professor, popular historian, poet, writer and active Altagraciano cultural promoter, teacher of several generations and founding director of the local museum.
His numerous historical and ethnological investigations have their maximum expression in two interesting books on the history and culture of Ometepe. For these works he makes use of data collection from the memory filed in the collective memory of the town.
Gallery
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