We moved into our own house in Cristo Rey, a small barrio on the edge of Rivas but is actually part of Popoyoapa. It is a small working class neighbourhood, like most neighbourhoods down here. We have slowly been integrating ourselves into the life of being a member of this community. We purchase a few items from time to time from our local pulperia (corner store), a dinner once a week from our vecino (nieghbour). She has to make the best nacatamales in all of Nicaragua. She is one of the original families of the neighbourhood; as is the furniture repair shop owner from across the road and the family beside us. These are the families on three of the four house at the intersection of our streets; we live one house off the corner. Now that you have a vision of our immediate ‘hood, I will return us here in a bit….
At about three in the afternoon Ange and I decided to go out for dinner as part of our New Years celebration. We thought we would go to the beach in San Jorge as there are some great lake front restaurants there. We left our house and went to the road from Rivas to San Jorge.
In Nicaragua they have a tradition of building stuffed “muñecos” these are life sized effegies adorned with vices of the year past and stuffed with fire crackers then at midnight they are set ablaze in the streets.
Plenty of additional fireworks are also let off. It is a awesome way to let go of the past and welcome the new year. The people that have taken the time to construct these dolls proudly display them in their front yards for a few days leading up to the event.
But back to my story. We started out walking along the road to San Jorge and as we got closer toe San Jorge we noticed a that an ever increasing number of people were gathering on the sides of the road. As I was trying to figure out how to ask what was going on we saw the flashing red and blue of the local policia. (Parade part 1https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=G58wPPLKdTM) So we joined the throngs of people now gathering on foot and on motor bike along the road an watched as a parade of people slowly went past. Carloads and even truck loads of people all out to start their New Years celebrations. Some, actually a lot of people, proudly showed off their muñecos, a few were in costume themselves and all were happy and jovial. As the parade passed the people on motor bikes joined in the procession. (Parade part 2https://www.youtube.com/my_videos?o=U( nsfw warning: there is an “F”bomb at the 6:30ish mark. My bad) Once it had passed us we carried on our journey to the beach, wishing people we came across a Feliz Año Nuevo.
Upon arriving at the beach we found our favourite restaurant, Los Refugios, was closed, so we tried one that was new to us.
New Years Dinner With My Baby
We sat at a table down on the sand under a thatch roof with the waves coming right to the edge of our seating area. We ordered a small bottle of rum to the table and enjoyed a few drinks as we watch the full moon rise slowly between the two volcanoes across the water on the island of Ometepe. 
We met a couple from the Czech Republic that were doing a month long Christmas holiday trip with their two daughters.
Our new friends from the Czech Republic
Now we have friends in that corner of the world. We finished our dinner said good bye to our new friends and started walking back to our house. Once we were home it was too early to not stay out and see what happens with the night. Ange went in a I went to the corner to see what my neighbours were up to. Seems they were celebrating with music, drink, fire works and a muñeco of their own. So we bought some beer to contribute to the party and spent the rest of evening getting to know them more on a personal level.
The evening was amazing to be apart of. Neighbours would walk around the neighbourhood shaking hands hugging and wishing everyone a blessed new year. Teenagers huddled in little groups and little kids hanging with their parents and cousins everyone of them enjoying the ringing in of the new year. One of the neighbours had wireless mic for his speaker system and took the opportunity to welcome us to the neighbourhood.
No this is not me. It’s our neighbour muneco.
And then the time had arrived! The muñeco was dragged form his perch in a chair at the house of the creator drug to the centre of the street and lit on fire. As it burned the fireworks that were placed inside him exploded as well as numerous other fire works being set off.
The view up and down the street was incredible as everyone who had made one of these things torched them up. The fireworks from everyone was intense. There were roman candle types that exploded with colour thirty or forty feet in the air and tons of little bangers with the occasional big banger in the mix. It was an amazing thing to be part
If you look carefully you can see four or five others burning down the street.
of. We are going to build our own muñeco next year and contribute to the fireworks and really blow this neighbourhood up….Stoked!!
I hope you had a great New Years celebration where you are and all the best to you and yours in 2018.