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NATIONAL
HEROES
Augusto Sandino
Augusto Sandino is the
revolutionary hero and leader of the Nicaraguan rebellion against a U.S.
military presence from 1927 to 1933. Born in 1895 in the village of
Niquinohomo, Augusto was the son of a coffee grower. In 1921 he fled to
Honduras, Guatemala and then to Mexico after he tried to murder the sons
of a wealthy conservative figure in his town. He worked in Mexico for
Standard Oil refinery and there became involved with a number of
revolutionary and communist groups, as well as being influenced by the
indigenous movement that had come out of the Mexican Revolution.
Sandino is a national
and regional symbol of resistance to foreign influence, for he led armed
attacks on U.S. military troops in the country. He was targeted as a
bandit and rebel leader by the U.S. government. Once the U.S. military
had secured a favorable president, Sandino was targeted by the
government and was eventually executed by General Anastasio Somoza
García, who took control of the government by force and whose family
would rule for 40 years. Sandino’s legacy of resistance to foreign
involvement in national affairs became the basis of the Sandinista
National Liberation Front, a national political movement that eventually
overthrew the Somoza government in 1979.
Rúben
Darío
Rúben Darío is a noteworthy journalist,
diplomat and poet who has been called the “Father of Modernism” for his
literary contributions and the way in which he brought a more vibrant
style of writing to the otherwise dull and monotonous Spanish language
poetry during this time. Darío, born Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, was
born in Metapa, Nicaragua, a city that is now called Ciudad Darío (Darío
City) in his honor. Darío’s later contributions to the literary world
were most likely influenced by his difficult childhood. After his
parents separated after he was born, Darío was raised by his godfather
Colonel Félix Ramirez. Darío felt a sense of abandonment from his
parents, and in fact he only met his mother twice in his life.
Darío displayed talent
in writing from a young age and even earned the title “El Niño Poeta”
(the Poet Child). When he was denied the chance to study in Europe on a
government scholarship, he traveled instead to El Salvador and later to
Chile before moving back to Nicaragua. Darío took part in or led a
number of literary movements in various countries of Latin America and
Europe, including Nicaragua, Chile, Spain and Argentina. Darío was
called the Father of Modernism for the introduction of a very different
style of writing characterized by strong and passionate language full of
emotion. His innovative style began to appear in works by many literary
writers in music and poetry.
Andres Castro
Andrés Castro is a hero of the struggle for
Nicaraguan independence. He was a sergeant in the patriot army fighting
for independence from the Spanish in 1856. In one particularly famous
battle, the battle at San Jacinto that took place on September 14th,
he had difficulty keeping his position and could not use the arms they
had because they were old and failing. Instead, Castro threw a rock at a
soldier crossing the trench so forcefully that the enemy soldier was
killed by the rock hitting his head. This battle initiated the defeat of
the enemy forces in the country, and Castro is known as a heroic leader
of this battle and thus of the independence movement.
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Updated: 8 May
2008 |
