This beautiful city was also a place my father had traveled to in order to find customers for his textiles. When we arrived I immediately fell in love with it, and the people living on the outskirts of the small city.
From the small burrito store in the center of town to the grand square, the food was beyond tasty. My mind kept thinking if my father had walked these same streets, if he sat in the same square for lunch.
When we arrived we drove around the rim of the lake looking for communities to document. We found a young family earlier, and photographed them in front of the home which they tend for the owners. The family told us that there were many families a kilometer or so up the road, and so we pushed onward to the local school in search.
That is when we noticed a girl with the most incredible hair, the older sister to the one in this frame. Immediately we stopped and walked over to say hello. The family was so receptive, a preview of how we were to be treated in our travels throughout Nicaragua. They were so warm and spoke with us in such an honest, kind manner.
We spoke at length about their lives, how they work well before sunrise and do so in the muddy waters nearby. They do so just to be able to feed their children, and live a most humble life. They live without running water, proper electricity, medical care, bathrooms... while their meals come on a day to day basis.
This was in extreme contrast to the town square which was less than a fifteen minute drive, and of course to communities where all of the above is commonplace. Such is this young girl's life, such is the reality she faces daily.
Yet they treated us as equals, invited us back the very next day and embraced as as family. The people of Nicaragua are beyond comparison, and I for one am proud to call myself a Nica.
Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 503 CW/100 mm combination.
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