“NicaraguAmor” Cultural Caravan for Nicaraguans in the USA

 A folk group, a group of troubadours, and singer-songwriter Carlos Mejía Godoy have joined in a “cultural caravan” — called “NicaraguAmor” — to bring their music and dance to Nicaraguan communities in the United States.

“NicaraguAmor” emerged in February 2024 as an initiative of the Nicaraguan folk group “Malinche,” who proposed it to Carlos Mejía Godoy and the musical group “TrovAzul.”

“We didn’t know what to call the initiative or how to do it, but Carlos Mejía, always with his ideas and idiosyncrasy, said to us — ‘why not call it NicaraguAmor,’ and so it was,” explained Ada Marling Herrera, coordinator of the initiative and founder of “Malinche,” a group of ten Nicaraguans who perform at all Latin American activities held in New York.

The venues of the “NicaraguAmor” caravan

The first stop of the cultural caravan was in Washington D.C. on February 10. “We didn’t know the magnitude of this, but when we saw how people reacted to hearing folklore and the marimba again, how it filled their souls, and how they got emotional, we decided to continue organizing more concerts because it was very emotional,” said Herrera.

Less than fifteen days later, they performed in New York. Their next stop will be this Saturday, April 27, in Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, they have planned a tour in Miami, Florida.

Tickets cost between 40 and 80 dollars. In the performances, depending on the space, stands are also set up to sell typical Nicaraguan foods.

The presentation this Saturday in Chicago will be at 7:00 p.m., in a venue adjacent to the Óscar Romero church, at 1953 West 48th Street. Tickets cost 40 dollars.

Support from Nicaraguans

“The choice of states for upcoming concerts will depend heavily on Nicaraguans in each state. There are people who tell us — ‘look, we can do it here because we have so many people.’ So, a survey is conducted to find out how many people could support us, because we need people for logistics and the transportation of the musicians,” Herrera explained.

The Nicaraguan dancer emphasized that “NicaraguAmor” is a non-profit initiative, as the money from the tickets is used to pay for the transportation of the musicians, the rental of the venue, and other expenses of the performances.

“In this country, life is a constant rush. As Nicaraguans work a lot, we want to gift them a little bit of Nicaragua. It’s very important to keep that Nicaraguan flame alive,” she emphasized.

This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.