radiant[allusions]: THE BANNER VAULT

A collection of all of the radiant[allusions] header banners ever made.
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Peña

La Peña Labrada (meaning "worked stone"), is a dominating form of the skyline in Santa Lucía. This cerro is made up of sheer rock cliffs and holds its vigil over the entire caldera Luciana. There are various paths leading to the top, which to the valiant adventurer offers some of what are probably the most breathtaking views anywhere in Nicaragua.

Maní

The four kernels of maní (peanuts) shown here were bought in a half-pound bag from a local farmer. They were already husked but were left unroasted and unsalted...a delicious and extremely fresh snack perfect for a day of exploration in the mountains, or for just laying around in a hamáca (hammock).

Chavalos

Elementary school kids gathered from twelve smaller communities wait in the rain to begin their end-of-the-year celebration at the central school in the Jorge Urcuyo School District. (Chavalos means "kids")

Semillas de Ayote

In a concrete lavandero (the place where you wash stuff), a pile of old ayote seeds lies accompanied by a tweety bird squeak toy. Ayote is a kind of squash not unlike a pumpkin that is most commonly found in soup. It looks like this.

Llama a Mi y Yo Te Responderé

Through the open door of a house nestled in the mountains offering breathtaking views of the town below, Don Victorino passes on his way to check on the cattle. Inside, the house is wallpapered with old newspaper and magazine pages; last year’s headlines linger for a few months longer. On the door, one of Victorino’s daughters has written “Welcome,” and, “Llame a mí y yo te responderé,” meaning “Call me and I shall answer you.”

Paisaje

The Santa Lucían skyline is resplendent in its singular majesty.

Cancha

Every year on September 15th all of the schools in Santa Lucía gather under the roof of the cancha (basketball/indoor soccer court) in the park to celebrate Central American independence from Spain in 1821. The two high schools in town compete unofficially to see who has the loudest, most bombastic marching band and the most scantily clad, suggestive cheerleaders. Seating is limited.

Maíz

In a small house outside of town, ears of corn hang from the ceiling to dry. There are hundreds of traditional Nicaraguan dishes made using this white semi-sweet corn, including tortillas, güirila, tiste, pinol, indio viejo, elote, atol, and many many others.

Chiltoma

This is my very comely hand holding a chiltoma (bell pepper) that I found growing on the modest property of an old-timer in the mountains outside of town. This guy lives alone and built his two-story house all by himself out of blocks and bricks and hand-cut wooden planks.

Chicha

Elementary school teachers rush to prepare food for 200 kids after the anniversary celebration in the Jorge Urcuyo School District. The meal included chicha, indio viejo, white rice, and tortilla, and it was delicious.

Ganado

In a pasture in the community of Los Álvarez, looking southwest towards Managua. There are many similar fields all over Santa Lucía. They’re used primarily for cattle grazing but also as shortcuts between communities, as evidenced by the well-trodden dirt path seen here.

Herramientas

In the city of Masaya we went to investigate a mobile wood burning stove model made primarily with iron and zinc. These are some of the tools we used. The stove design turned out to be super expensive and therefore ill-suited for a rural community-based project.

Café

These coffee grains have been freshly stripped of their rind and papery layer and are ready for toasting.

Culebra

A small snake slithers through the underbrush in the mountains above Santa Lucía. Unfortunately people tend to kill snakes on principle, thinking them to be fundamentally evil and dangerous. They don’t often think about their important role as pest control.

Telaraña

There are lots of spiders and spider webs in Santa Lucía, probably due to the copious amounts of tasty bugs.

Campesino

Up in the mountains of the community Los Álvarez, Don Inocente has many manzanas (a unit of land measurement equal to about two acres) where he cultivates all kinds of crops, including beans, corn, tomatoes, carrots, cassava, oranges, lemons, avocados, and more.

Baile

A folkloric dancer from the local high school performs at the Casa Materna in Boaco for a Mother's Day celebration, the culminating event of our joint Environment, Health, and Small Business revitalization project. More info here and an official Peace Corps press release here!

Cangrejo

There are small crabs that live in the forests of Santa Lucía. They come out of their burrows to disfrutar (enjoy) the humidity during the wet season.