CHONTALES

This department is known as the dairy farm of Nicaragua. Located in the central region of the country, the towns of Juigalpa (the Department’s Capital), Comalapa, San Francisco de Cuapa, Santo Domingo, Villa Sandino, Acoyapa, El Coral, La Libertad, San Pedro de Lóvago and Santo Tomas are the areas it governs. Interacting with scenarios of flatness, plateaus, and the elevations of the Amerrisque Mountains, and the Chontaleña mountain range.

The name “Chontales” comes from the indigenous nahual word chontali translated as “Town of Out-of-Towners or Foreigners”.

According to archeological studies, these warrior tribes populated the area since the Sixth Century.

Chontales is the entrance route to the RAAS area of the Atlantic coast, its economy is based on dairy farms, and its main tourist attractions are the Valley of Mayales and the Natural Reserve “Sierra de Amerrisque”.

Juigalpa.

It is located 139 kms from Managua, in the Valley of Rio Mayales in the central region of the country. It is nestled between the northwest coast of the Great Lake of Nicaragua, the mountain chain of Amerrisque, and the valleys descending towards the lake.

Juigalpa, according to the illustrious historians Squier and Tomas Belt, the name is of Aztec origin, meaning “Great City”. According to the linguist Mr. Alfonso Valle, Juigalpa is a Mexican word “Juigalpan” meaning “a place where black snails breed". According to another version, the name derived from a Mexican language “Place of Abundant Calabash”.

The monuments found in the Archeological Museum Gregorio Aguilar Barea, confirms the mixture of two indigenous cultures: the Quiribies or Caribies, and the Choroteganos, originally from California and Mexico respectively.

The Department of Chontales was founded on August 24, 1858. In 1858 and 1866, Acoyapa was denominated as its Capital.

Juigalpa had the first defense military fortress, in order to protect themselves from the incursions by the misquita tribes.

The first families to settle there were from Granada. These families founded the first dairy farms; it was a transit town between Granada and the mining towns of La Libertad and Santo Domingo, through Puerto Diaz. Juigalpa owes its being declared the Capital of the Department of Chontales, to its excellent commercial development, population, and cattle farms, on June 11, 1877. Later, on January 27, 1879, Juigalpa was denominated as a City by presidential decree.

Comalapa

Located 130 kms of Managua, it borders with the towns of Camoapa, Juigalpa, and Cuapa.

It is a dairy farm town, topographically fractioned by grassy pastures, located on the Amerrisque hills. Its historical population of aborigine origin originally named it Comalagalpan and later Comalapa.

San Francisco de Cuapa

It is located 152 kms from Managua, a town with hilly topography. The most important elevations are: Cerro Matayagual (958 mts asl), Monte Cristo (920 mts asl), La Victoria (891 mts asl), Buena Vista (872 mts asl), Las Cuchillas (865 mts asl), Matayagual (858 mts asl), Tumbé (818 mts asl) and Oluma (760 mts asl).

Cuapa is a popular pilgrimage center for Catholics who travel to the site where the Virgin Mary is alleged to have appeared to a poor and humble peasant from Cuapa, Bernardo Martinez. Today it is known to be, specifically, under the protection of Our Lady of Cuapa.

Pilgrimages to the site are constant occurrences throughout the year. Believers pray for miracles at the sanctuary, the place where the Virgin is said have made her first appearance in 1980.

A common sight, on the anniversaries of her appearances to Bernardo (May through October), the faithful gathered at the sanctuary have seen the sun dance, jump, rotate, and turn colors. Healing and conversion miracles have also been witnessed to occur there.

Santo Domingo

Founded in 1872 by indigenous mineworkers and half-casts from Nueva Segovia, it was known as the mineral site of Santo Domingo.

Imperiously standing out and located to the east of “El Pital”, in the surrounding areas of the Artiguas river, are the mountains of El Espejo, Banadi, El Escandalo, Las Nubes, La Chispa, Sierra de La Libertad, Cerro Chato, La Laguna, El Consuelo, and La Flor. Santo Domingo was denominated as a city on October 17, 1951 and it is traditionally a mining and dairy town.

Two Patron festivities: From May 2 thru 5 –honoring the Holy Cross, and on December 4 are the Festivities of Saint Barbara, Patron of the Mineworkers.