Telica is a municipality with an eminent rural lifestyle, merely agricultural and with deep-rooted cultural presences of its ancient indigenous inhabitants; It has a mountainous system worthy of adventure and a charismatic population, this will make visiting Telica a beautiful experience.
Studies establish that the ancient inhabitants of Telica were Maribio groups, of the Sutiaba language, close to the Tlapanec language, from the state of Guerrero, Mexico. The archaeological objects found such as stone tools, grinding stones and ceramic vessels show the existence of pre-Hispanic indigenous populations in the territory.
The town of Telica has its cultural and historical roots dating back more than 600 years before the arrival of the Spanish, when it was part of the territory controlled by the Sutiava chiefdom.
Telica is the seventh municipality in territorial extension, the sixth in population and the third in population density of the department of León. By law of May 11, 1871, during the administration of Don Vicente Cuadra, the title of town was conferred on it, and since then it has been proudly called Villa de Telica.
Artistic expressions of painting
In the field of plastic arts, the self-taught painter, Erick Sevilla Martínez, is an artistic promise at the municipality level.
His vocation was revealed since he was a child, his painting began in 1991, two years later he produced his first important painting in oil on canvas: “Women in the market”. Seville has experimented with techniques of primitivism, realism and abstractionism. He makes a living reproducing portraits and creating small oil paintings.
On the other hand, the evangelical church promotes dance groups with Christian music, and the Mary Barreda association teaches children and young people the arts of dance and theater.
Traditional trades or practices
Medicinal mud vendors: Local industriousness and ingenuity makes it possible for the inhabitants of the area to sell portions of the mud, coming from the red-hot fumaroles of the hot springs, as medicinal mud.
This practice has been inspired by the recommendations of some naturopathic doctors who attribute to the topical application of this material, healing properties to heal skin diseases, local guides also make handicrafts from this particular clay.
Local characters that are part of the history and culture of Telica
Miguel Larreynaga.
Miguel Larreynaga: wise and prudent man, philosopher, humanist, lawyer and poet. He served as a diplomat; He was the representative of Nicaragua before the Central American Court. He was born in the city of León on September 29, 1772. The house of his early childhood is still preserved. Larreynaga successfully held positions of responsibility, under the mandate of the Spanish crown, in Guatemala and Mexico. He was the editor and signer of the Central American Independence Act on September 15, 1821 in Guatemala. He was also Minister of Finance. He died at the age of 74, on April 28, 1847.
Colonel Manuel Ignacio Pereira: main manager and founder of the municipality of Larreynaga. He was born in Telica in 1890. In 1912 he joined the first armed movement. In 1920 he joined the Band of the Supreme Powers. He was elected mayor of Telica in 1926, the year in which the Constitutionalist Revolution broke out, where he fought alongside General Francisco Parajón. In 1936, being mayor of Telica, he founded the municipality of Larreynaga and the town of Malpaisillo.
Gladys Chavez: renowned Telica teacher who has stood out in the community for her educational work and for representing Telica women. Teacher of several generations, with great capacity and good performance. A large number of professionals appreciate the academic training they received from you.
Jose Maria Montoya "El Chamaco": many people do not know his first name, but with his nickname, everyone knows who he is and where he lives. This simple character is famous for attending church at Easter, disguised as "Satan." At the age of 13 he was already riding horses for races, he was a worker at the El Limón Mine and a boxer, an activity that left him with a bumpy nose. This unique character fulfills his promise as a devil by having been cured of severe pain in the heel, since 1940.
He has been out disguised as a devil through the streets of the town for more than six decades, after Mass on Good Friday, with his face frowned, his deer horns and clothing covered with a black plastic cape. He is a living icon of folklore and popular religiosity.
Other relevant sites of cultural interest
Archaeological Museum of Telica: a project promoted by the Directorate and the students of the “Instituto Nacional Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas”, from the El Apante community. The archaeological collection preserves some 160 objects of a pre-Hispanic character, among which pieces and fragments of ceramics and stone stand out. For local bibliographic consultations, there is a library located in the Centro Socorro Santana Solís.
Legends
The Lord of Miracles wanted to stay in Telica: At the end of the XNUMXth century, the indigenous people of Sutiaba made a pilgrimage to Telica, during the eruption of the Telica volcano. The Sutiaveños, with the intention that the Saint would stop the fury of the volcano, tried to take the image of the Lord of Miracles from the church. According to legend, the Saint himself was opposed to leaving his temple, because when the porters passed through the main door, the image became larger and could not be removed, and after an hour it weighed more. The image wanted to stay, but it rewarded the faith of the Sutiaveños, stopping the flow of lava that threatened the town.
Legend of Pancho Ñato: In the 40-50s (XNUMXth century), a peasant character named Francisco “Pancho Ñato” Juárez Mendoza became a legend in the regions of León, whom the National Guard, led by Balto Alvarado in the GN headquarters of San Jacinto, gave him chase for cattle rustling. "Pancho Ñato" always denied it, and instead maintained that the problem was actually that "I am not a servile of guards, nor do I have to cover their crimes for them."
"Pancho Ñato" had a reputation for being a fine marksman, with accurate skills to hit the target of his enemies, whether running on his horse, crawling on the ground or running through the undergrowth. He had killed several genocidal Somoza guards, and so that they would not catch him, he slept on the peaks of the hills, in the mysterious "San Jacinto water jets," in the San Jacinto hot springs and in the El Tizate hot springs, because in those places the guards and his enemies did not look for him; Due to the fact that the temperature inside the craters and in their surroundings, oscillated between 90, 100 and 150 degrees Celsius.
Santiago del Socorro Paiz Carvajal, "The Indian Rose Bread", wrote him a song narrating all his adventures as a legendary character.
Legend of the bull, the horse and the field within the hotspots: This popular story relates that a campisto, (a rider who herds horses), rushed with everything and his horse to one of the boiling craters of the Hervideros de San Jacinto, when he was chasing a bull to lasso it, at Easter. Some neighbors say that on Good Friday the bleating of the bull, the neighing of the horse and the shouts of the countryside can be heard inside the hotspots, and they also assure that the campisto went into the hotspots "in punishment" because he was running on horseback in Easter week.
The legend from where the Telica River is born: in this municipality there is only one river, the Telica. According to legends of the region, the Telica River was formerly born in “Laguna Seca”, in the Cruz del Horcón. It is said that it originated from the burial of a mysterious calf covered with abundant salt, whose commemoration was celebrated in the place for a long time, calling it the “Fiesta de la Cruz”.
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