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Managua, Nicaragua



 


Tree: Nederlandse voorouders

Notes:
Managua (Spanish pronunciation: maˈnaɣwa) is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in 1852. Prior to its inception as the capital city, the title had alternated between the cities of León and Granada. The city has a population of about 2,200,000, composed predominantly of mestizos. Managua is the second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City.



Founded in 1819, the city was given the name: Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Its original purpose was to serve as a rural fishing village. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical and ideal compromise site. Modern-day Managua was built in the 1850s on the site of an indigenous community. The city occupies an area on a fault. Seismologists predict that Managua will continue to experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less. The city's economy is based mainly on trade and industry. Managua is Nicaragua's chief trading center for coffee, cotton, other crops and industry. It serves as an important industrial, commercial, political and cultural center. Its chief products include beer, coffee, matches, textiles, and shoes. Today, Managua is Nicaragua's main political, social, cultural, educational and economic hub. The city is served by the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, the country's primary international airport and regional Los Brasiles and Punta Huete, military airport, recently renewed.



The city has been witness to the rise and fall of political powers throughout Nicaragua's history and has suffered devastating earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, with the latter having lasting effects on the city's development. In 2007, after a successful literacy campaign, Managua was declared by the Mayor of Managua and the Sandinista party newspaper to be the first capital city in Central America to be rid of illiteracy. Since the 1972 earthquake, residential and business areas have developed on the outskirts of Managua. Other construction projects included schools, hospitals, and shopping centers. Such structures were specially constructed to withstand severe earthquakes. Managua also houses the only eternal flame in Central America.



Residents of the city and of the department of Managua are called Managüenses.



Nicaragua was inhabited by Paleo-Indians as far back as 6,000 years ago. The ancient footprints of Acahualinca are 2,100-year-old fossils discovered along the shores of Lake Managua. Other archaeological evidence, mainly in the form of ceramics and statues made of volcanic stone, like the ones found on the island of Zapatera, and petroglyphs found in Ometepe island, contribute to the increasing knowledge of Nicaragua's ancient history.



Contemporary history



The Old Managua



After Granada was destroyed by a mercenary army led by William Walker in 1857, the capital was firmly established in Managua. Between 1852 and 1930, Managua underwent extensive urbanization; becoming a base of governance, infrastructure and services. The city was hampered by major floods in 1876 and 1885. A disastrous earthquake in 1931 and large fire in 193 destroyed much of the city. Under the rule of dictator Anastasio Somoza García and his family (1936–1979), the city was rebuilt and began to grow rapidly. New government buildings were erected, industry developed, and universities were established. The city's development caught the attention of Irving Fields and Albert Gamse, who composed a musical piece about the city that became popular in the 1940s through the performances of Freddy Martin, Guy Lombardo and Kay Kyser.0 Managua had become Central America's most developed city. Today's references differentiate the pre-1970s Managua by labeling it as La Antigua Ciudad, which in English translates to "The Ancient City" or "The Old City".



Managua's progress came to a sudden halt after it suffered a second major earthquake on December 23, 1972, which destroyed 90% of the city and killed more than 19,120 people. Infrastructure was severely damaged and rehabilitation or restoration of buildings was nearly impossible. At the time, Managua's limited resources had to be directed to other disaster relief purposes. Managua's ability to cope with the disaster was also limited. Surviving fire squadrons and ambulance companies were not able to handle the skyrocketing demand for their services. Some buildings burned to the ground, while the foundations of others simply gave way. Not able to rebuild quickly, the city directed emergency workers to clear away much of the city's ruins quickly while burying the deceased in mass graves. Residences, government buildings and entire avenues were demolished. Escaping the city center, earthquake victims found refuge in the outskirts of the city. The migration of residents away from the city center allowed for it to go undeveloped. The addition of corruption within the Somoza regime also hindered the center's development. The regime allocated small portions of funds for reconstruction. Today, the city center remains somewhat isolated from the rest of the capital.



The Nicaraguan Civil War of 1979 to overthrow the Somoza regime and the 11-year long Contra War of the 1980s further devastated the city and its economy. To make matters worse, a series of natural disasters, including Hurricane Mitch in 1998, have made economic recovery more difficult. After winning the elections of 1990, UNO began the reconstruction of Managua in earnest. In 2006, after the FSLN came back into power, literacy, health and reconstruction programs were expanded.



La Antigua Ciudad de Managua—The Old City of Managua



A view of one of Managua's old central avenues.







An aerial view of Managua in 1972.







A street in Managua on December 22, 1972.



Present day



Downtown has been partially rebuilt and new governmental buildings, galleries, museums, apartment buildings, squares, promenades, monuments, boat tours on Xolotlan Lake, restaurants, night entertainment, and new broad avenues have resurrected part of Managua's downtown former vitality. Commercial activity, however, remains low. Residential and commercial buildings have been constructed on the outskirts of the city, in the same locales that were once used as refuge camps for those who were homeless after the earthquake. These booming locales have been of concern to the government because of their close proximity to Lake Nicaragua. Concerns over water pollution and native wildlife have brought some residents closer to the old city center and the rest of the mainland.



Source: Wikipedia

City/Town : Latitude: 12.1363889, Longitude: -86.2513889


Birth

Matches 1 to 1 of 1

   Last Name, Given Name(s)    Birth    Person ID   Tree 
1 Morena, Bianca Perez  2 May 1945Managua, Nicaragua I372743 Geneagraphie 
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