1 March 1998
Over the last two weeks, I’ve been introduced to a whole new world – the country that we (the United States) invaded in the 1980s. To visit Nicaragua in the post-war world is a surreal experience. So much has changed in the years since … and yet, our presence there can not be forgotten.
I was visiting under the auspices of a sister-city organization, Project Minnesota-León, which intends to create understanding and support between Minnesotans and people of the Nicaraguan state of León.
As an American visiting in this time, I was encouraged to use my ears more than anything else. Listen to the experience of Nicaraguans and bring that experience home.
2023 Update: These photos were originally used as part of a slide show that I made for a PML event later in 1998. My dear friend, Jack Shelton, picked out the music from a then-recent Deep Forest album release that I can’t directly include here. Jack and I met through organizing this trip and he became one of my closest friends and mentors. Jack is now facing an unwinnable battle against a terminal illness; it’s my hope that he can see these memories from our time together before he passes. Just imagine this upbeat song with the photos that follow in a fast-paced slide show. That was the experience we created together. Sometime I hope to recapture a bit more of the background notes behind some of these photos. If anyone from the PML community can help me add context here, I would be most grateful.
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