Corn is Mighty

Corn is very important to Nicaraguan aka Nicas.  
We are corn people and we're very inventive and creative in the ways that corn is used. We grow corn, have a big corn festival, we boiled or grilled the corn which is basically corn on the cob. Many street vendors set up their venues at the most popular places like the bus stops, markets, parks and many may walk on the main streets of the cities, screaming as if their life depended on and with all their might "Elotes!"

Then there is Atol, a thick sweet corn drinkable pudding and guirila, a kind of sweet grilled corn tortilla served with fresh cheese and/or sour cream. 

Rosquillas coming out of oven

We've created drinks from corn such as pinolillo, pinol, posol and tiste.

Not to forget the baked goods like corn cakes, cookies like rosquillas, viejitas, perrereque. etc.

There are even two Islands on the Caribbean side of Nicaragua named Corn Islands (Las Islas de Maíz).   

Nacatames cooking in a pot

But the best dish in my opinion are El Nacatal and El Picadillo. There is nothing more delicious than to eat picadillo during the festivities in honor of Saint Sebastian, Patron of Diriamba. El Picadillo, this succulent porridge like dish is specially served on January 20.

Interesting to mentioned that many parts of Nicaragua knows El  Picadillo as Indio Viejo (Old Man), Why the difference? I don't know but it is the exact same dish, only two different names. If anyone know why they are called differently, please let me know.

Feast of Saint Sebastian, Diriamba, Nicaragua

Feast of San Sebastian (January 17 to 27)
Patron saint of Diriamba, Nicaragua.

Diriamba located about 45 km (28 miles) south of Managua is usually a quiet city. But every January the entire city comes alive celebrating the Feast of Saint Sebastian, its patron saint. This feast although rooted with Catholic believes, it is much more than a religious celebration, it represent the heart of an entire city, its culture, and folklore.

Saint Sebastian is believed to performed many miracles and the purpose of the feast is for his followers to fulfilled their promise and pay their debts to the saint.

The following video is a brief summary of the feast. (But read on to know what it all means)

http://youtu.be/u408OrCEcBk  

San Sebastian’s Cavildo.  (Saint Sebastian’s council) 

A cavildo was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council. The Cavildo de San Sebastian is formed by 12 members and they are commonly known as the “drums of Saint Sebastian, los tambores de San Sebastian.” 

There are many different forms of payment, some people as you've see in the video (above), promise to arrive to the Minor Basilica of Saint Sebastian in Diriamba on their knees and family members will help them by laying blankets in front of them.  

The Host or Mayordomo – He is in charge of the entire feast open to the public from January 17 to January 20. His main duties are to provide food and ginger drink (jengibre) to Diriamba’s inhabitant and all the guests visiting Diriamba. As well as, he is responsible for fireworks (juegos de polvora), and entertainment, all free of charge. 

The Hostess or Patrona – She is in charge of the entire feast open to the public from January 24 to January 27. She basically takes over the host’s duties and continues to provide food and ginger drink as well as fireworks (juegos de polvora), and entertainment, all free of charge.  

Due to the high costs of the feast, sometimes no one volunteers to be the host or hostess. When this happens, a committee is form and they have several fundraisers to raise the money for the feast.

Minor hosts - 4 days celebration (mandatory). The proper name given to these minor hosts are Alferez (men) or Tenienta (women). Although there is a mandatory 4 day celebration and each day must followed a traditional agenda, the scale of their parties is much smaller than the host or hostess. As far as tradition goes, the parties may be attended by invitation only or they could be open to the public but the minor hosts decide.

There are promises to host a party for a one day celebration and they are called: Alborada.

 

El tope – The meeting of three saints:
St. Sebastian, St. Marcos & Santiago.

Every January 19, the city of Dolores becomes the meeting place of three patron saints:
St. Marcos from the city of  St. Marcos, Santiago from the city of Jinotepe and
St. Sebastian from Diriamba. This continues to be a huge celebration day with lots of music, dancing, traditional dancers, lots of people and fireworks.
Dolores is about 4 Km from Diriamba and it is between Diriamba and Jinotepe.

The following video is a brief show of their meeting in Dolores.

January 20  - the big day.

January 20 is the feast of St. Sebastian. After mass, the statue of St. Sebastian is parade through the streets of Diriamba followed by dancers, musicians, fireworks, and lots of people. Picadillo is the food that is served and delicious Buñuelos is the dessert.
(Check out the Recipes tab as they will be posted soon)

La Gigantona

Dances (Los Bailes)

There are lots of traditional dances featured in the feast and each has its own history. I will just mentioned the name of the main ones.
- Las Inditas
- El Viejo y la Vieja - Old man and old woman. 
- El Gigante
- Toro huaco
- La Gigantona
- El Gueguense o Macho Raton - dance parody mocking Spanish conquistadores. You can easily identify them in the video since their masks are painted with beige paint and wearing peacock feathers hats and the other dancers are wearing black wooden masks with a donkey like face.  

The feast is an emotional experience, there is a sea of people attending, there is a clash of sound of music, fireworks, bell ringing, people praying, dancing and kneeling, all at the same time. 

Que Viva San Sebastian!  Hail Saint Sebastian!  

References:

El Patron San Sebastian by Luis Mojica Sanchez.