La Purisima

“La Purisima” is a week long Catholic celebration here in Nicaragua. It is a celebration to honor the Virgin Mary, many people put alters to her in their homes and then neighbors come bring gifts to each other.

The locals seem to be having a grand time, but I must say, this is my least favorite “holiday” I have ever encountered. It’s so LOUD!
To celebrate there has been parades marching by, bands playing proudly down the street and music blaring at all hours of the day and night. But the one thing I dread the most is the constant explosion of mortars.
They set mortars off sporadically throughout the day and then quite a bit in the evening. But then they set them off precisely at 3:00 am and 6:30 am for about a half an hour straight.
At the 3:00 am mortar extravaganza a band even walks down our street playing! It is absolutely startling to be awaken by mortars exploding and a band marching down your street at 3:00 am. It feels like a twilight zone and honestly, I don’t know why anyone would get up that early for anything.

Tonight is supposed to be the “grand finale” tribute to our dear Mother Mary. The US Embassy in Nica emailed all the Americans and told us to stay inside our homes! I guess things can get a little crazy with people drinking and even shooting off firearms.
So here we are, safe in our home listening to a band playing somewhere in the distance and mortars exploding every few minutes. I am very glad La Purisima is almost over!


A parade marching past our house complete with a Virgin Mary float and band playing behind it.