The ancient inhabitants of the municipality of Diriamba were from the Chorotega group; its cultural heritage continues to be part of daily life and its customs and traditions.
Diriamba is related to the Chief Diriangén, a great indigenous warrior and leader of the Dirians, who led the first defeat of the Spanish conquerors on Nicaraguan soil on April 17, 1523; first warlike encounter between two peoples or two cultures, which later merge to form the Nicaraguan people.
Later the territory became an encomienda of the city of Granada that paid tribute to the crown with beans, corn, salt, mats, wax and honey.
The municipality was integrated into coffee production from the 10th century, with state concessions, activating the local economy and industry. The town of Diriamba was elevated to a city on October 1894, XNUMX.
In this municipality, the traditional and modern merge in the spirit of the town during its traditional patron saint festivities. For which the municipal council declared it Cradle of the National Folk Theater in January 2002.
Traditions, artistic expressions, music and museums
Traditional dances
The Gueguense: is a folkloric dance comedy, written in old Castilian Spanish and Nahuatl words, it tells a story of mockery of the colonial administration from the perspective of indigenous culture and tradition, disguised with double-meaning language.
The güegüense, in Nahuatl = vulgar, and in Spanish = ironic and satirical, makes fun of the authorities.
The libretto is anonymous and evolving over time. It is presented during the town's patron saint festivities, with sounds performed by self-taught musicians from the El Jobo and El Dulce Nombre de Jesús communities, playing the instruments, box (small drum), guitar and violin.
The Bull Huaco: dance performed with two groups of dancers, from eight to 12 people. The music is indigenous with a whistle and a drum, it consists of nine sounds. It can be seen in the municipal festivities and it is stated that it is a warrior dance dedicated to Quetzalcóatl, their costumes are elegant, highlighting their hats with peacock feathers.
The Old Man and the Old Woman: It is a dance with a lively and varied rhythm, with mischievous body language that reflects the movements of an elderly couple. It is executed by men, one of them is disguised as an old woman, both wear wooden masks.
The giant: It is based on a biblical passage from the first book of Samuel, chapter 17, verses 23 to 57, where about 20 characters recreate the battle between the Philistines and Israelites, in comedy form. Its origin is a combination of miscegenation. The music is indigenous and is played with a whistle and a drum.
The Inditas del Guacal: It is a romantic dance, in homage to San Sebastián, at times danced and at times recounting verses.
The Hungarian Dance: It is a dance that combines the folk music of the region, composed of marimbas, guitars and guitars, inspired by the gypsies who passed through the area.
Dance and musical groups
Nicaraguan Folkloric Ballet, Diriamba Folkloric Ballet, the Musical Game Group and Diriamba Municipal School of Dance.
La Philharmonic Band of San Sebastián It is made up of 11 musicians, they play all kinds of music and entertain all kinds of events.
La San Antonio Musical Band, has eight musicians and is directed by Pedro Chávez.
Diriamba Symphonic Choir, made up of 30 participants, mostly young people who sing in church during special events.
Painters
Renald Montiel expresses his art in pen works, with themes from El Güegüense, pre-Columbian figures and old houses from Diriamba. Other painters are Amílcar Mendieta, Rolando Bojorge, Patricia Pavón, Ernesto Noguera and the Arburola brothers (Edmundo and Javier).
Crafts
Flores Rojas craft workshop: El Güegüense masks are made here, as well as statuettes of the Huaco Bull, El Viejo and La Vieja, La Gigantona and the Enano Cabezón. It is a family workshop that uses talalate and pochote wood as its raw material. This place is located from the old gate of the Cemetery 1 ½ block east.
Las mascaritas workshop or Güegüense workshop: Founded in 1931, they are dedicated to making masks, costumes and sculptures of El Güegüense. Its founder was Don José Flores.
Wooden statuettes from El Güegüense: Earrings, masks and representations of the Diriamba Clock are made, which are worked by the family workshops of Javier Soto Mojica, Ana Ericka Flores and Pablo Gutiérrez.
Ricardo Larios, a wood craftsman, makes altarpieces in wood and resin, also masks from El Güegüense, necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
Marimba workshop Silvio Gutiérrez: This workshop is well known for making the traditional marimba, a musical instrument that is later sold in the Managua and Masaya markets, in handicraft stores and fairs.
Traditional trades or practices
Pyrotechnic or powder maker: person who is dedicated to preparing and handling explosives and fireworks. In Diriamba the Jarquín family has historically exercised this trade to provide gunpowder at festive events.
Sites of historical and cultural interest
Museum of Cultural History: in this place you can make tours of the large rooms where there are mannequins and paintings with local traditions such as: the güegüense, the bull huaco, the giant, the old man and the old woman and the inditas del guacal; You can also visit the three rooms, one for documentation, a video room, and the one for appreciating the typical dances of the area, as well as observing an exhibition of paintings by local artists, pre-Columbian ceramic pieces and literary works. It can be reached by mototaxi or private car. The museum is from the Public Clock two blocks to the north and one block to the east, or from Bancentro one block to the north.
Dry Tropics Museum: Founded in 1997 to support the environmental education process, it exhibits endangered species through taxidermy, photographs and paintings. It has a library focused on nature issues. You can get there by mototaxi or private car. It is located four blocks south from Dissur, in front of the Diriamba National Police.
Petroglyphs of El Acetuno: on a rocky wall decorated with more than 30 pre-Hispanic engravings, mostly representations of animals: deer, monkeys, bats, lizards, snakes and a jaguar that is the symbol of the National Museum.
Legends
Appearance of the images San Sebastián and Santiago
Both images were found by fishermen, in their respective boxes, on the shores of the beach in Diriamba, allegedly after a shipwreck. Each one, according to stories, came with a bell, that of San Sebastián is said to have been made of gold and sank into the sea.
The images were taken to the local priest, who ordered that Santiago be left in Diriamba and San Sebastián taken to Jinotepe.
At dawn on the first day of being in their new homes, the images appeared changed, Santiago in Jinotepe and San Sebastián in Diriamba, so they were taken again to their respective assigned churches, but the same thing happened for three days, until the priest He ordered that they respect the will of the saints and leave them where they wanted to be.
According to legend, the designated place for the appearance of the images is the Huehuete spa, where the residents affirm that every January 20 they can hear the chime of bells at the bottom of the sea.
Characters relevant to the local culture
Ronald Abud Alive: He is a folklorist and teacher of dance, he formed the dance club "La Cámara Junior", which later became El Ballet Folclórico Nicaragüense. Ronald has deserved numerous recognitions for his work of rescue and artistic promotion. He is currently director of art, tradition and culture of the Ministry of Education.
Jaime Serrano Mena: historian and researcher of the cultural heritage of Diriamba.
The composer Sergio Tapia, creator of the best-known piece in the Nicaraguan folk dance groups, “El Indio Caraceño”, has more than 500 compositions to his credit.
Pablo Julian Gutierrez: El güegüense traditional dance mayordomo, has been performing the traditional music of this dance for more than 15 years.
Heriberto Mercado: maximum representative of flamenco dance in Nicaragua, Director of the Ricardo Morales Avilés House of Culture and promoter of the patron saint festivities.
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