Altagracia

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Sculpture park next to the cathedral of Altagracia.

For the city in Argentina, see Alta Gracia.

Altagracia is a municipality in the Rivas department of Nicaragua. It is the second largest city on the island of Ometepe. Its original name was Astagalpa, meaning ‘house of the herons’ in Náhuatl.^[1]

1 History
2 Tradition
3 See also
4 References

[edit] History

Altagracia is home to a Cathedral which was built in 1924. The city has recently installed a sculpture park next to the cathedral that contains important pre-Colombian art made from basalt rock. The figures are of great size, and represent human figures and their alter egos, mainly the eagle and jaguar. The pre-Colombian basalt rock figures are estimated to be from the nineteenth century.

Also present in Altagracia is the Museum of Ometepe (Museo de Ometepe) with a large archaeological and ethnographic collection.

[edit] Tradition

The city patron is San Diego de Alcalá and his festival, Fiesta de San Diego, is celebrated from November 12-18.^[1] The traditional dance called baile del Zompopo is performed on the 17th of November. This tradition is mixed with the celebration of Xolotl, who inhabited Nicaragua in pre-Colombian times before the Spaniards arrived. When the Franciscan arrived in Ometepe in 1613, this tradition was already existent, although they brought with themselves an image of San Diego de Alcalá and with time they obtained his figure and replaced Xolotl.