Jinotega | |
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— Municipality — | |
Jinotega City (from the southeast). | |
Coordinates: | |
Country | Nicaragua |
Department | Jinotega Department |
Area | |
• Municipality | 247.4 sq mi (640.65 km2) |
Population (2005) | |
• Municipality | 480,000 |
• Metro | 109,100 |
Jinotega is the capital of Jinotega Department in the north central region of Nicaragua.
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The capital city of the Department of Jinotega is the City of Jinotega. The Department of Jinotega produces 80% of the nation's coffee. It has a population of about 51,000 as of 2005[update] living inside a vast valley surrounded by mountains. Located near Apanas Lake, Jinotega is known as "La Ciudad de las Brumas" ("City of Mists") for the magnificent whisks of clouds continuously feathering through the top of the valley.
Jinotega also has a partnership with the Dutch city of Zoetermeer. Jinotega also has a public website which holds information and great photos of the latest things going on in Jinotega to help the community reconnect[1]
It is unknown when the first Spanish settled in Jinotega. It had to be after the year 1581, because the Spanish Census of 1581 shows it was still an Indian town. Even in 1703 when missioner Fray Margil de Jesus visited Jinotega there were no permanent Spanish settlers there. However by 1731 there were some permanent ones, like Juan de Castro, othe Spaniard lastnames like Gadea, Duarte, Altamirano, Alburquerque, Fray Juan de Zeledon, and some soldiers. Zeledon is said to have invited some nephews to come here who let descendants who still live there: some of them are Zeledon of La Concordia, Umure and Ocotal Espeso and Pacsila, idilic communities located between the cities of Matagalpa and Jinotega.
According to locals, Jinotega was founded when five Spanish families moved north from Nueva Segovia by year 1700 to settle the "dry zone" or "zona seca" community of Jocomico, Naranjo, Umure, Ocotal Espeso, which lies bout 15 kilometers south of the city. The city of Jinotega was formed in the middle of a bowl-like mountainous area. In 1703 a large cross was placed by Spanish friar Margil de Jesus at the highest point of Chirinagua in the western edge of the city, now called Cerro de la Cruz. It is illuminated at night, and tourists organize hiking tours to this peak.
The name Jinotega derives presumably from the Nahuatl word "Xinotencatl". Linguists disagree on the meaning of this word. Some interpret it as "City of the Eternal Men", whereas others translate it as "Neighbors of the Jiñocuabos". The word "Neighbors" here should be understood as being like the ending "ville" or "land". The interpretation as "Neighbors of the Jiñocuabos" is more likely to be the right one, since Jiñocuabo is a tree (Bursera simaruba (L.) Sarg.) praised by the natives for curative properties. In the Nahuatl-Language Jiñocuabo seems to mean "mangy tree". According to the principles of homeopathy (similia similibus curentur), this would confirm its healing properties on the skin, among many others. Jiñocuabo trees still grow in the areas surrounding Jinotega.
The Jinotega region is perhaps the most war-torn region in Nicaragua's history. Its remote location made it a haven for rebel forces throughout the last seven decades. The most intense battles took place in the Department of Jinotega between 1927 and 1934 under Augusto C. Sandino and his troops (popularly known as "los bandoleros") against the American occupation troops. Later, at the end of the 1970s, Jinotega was a place of bitter war between the troops of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the civil population. Somoza was defeated on July 19, 1979. After a short period of enthusiasm, civil war began again between government troops of the new Sandinista regime and civilians who felt betrayed by the Sandinistas.
Raices del centro-norte de Nicaragua, by Eddy Kuhl, 2010. Historian, Member of the Academy of Geography and History of Nicaragua
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