Four-Thirty!

15 September 2014. This year September started with a bang at 4:30 AM. Then another! And another! Every four seconds another! Until there were 24 in all. There was no going back to sleep after that, so on September 1 we got up at 4:30 AM.

The next day began with a big bang, too.  It was 4:30 AM. Then another. And so on. Not the 24 blasts of the previous day, but 5 or 6.

La Virgen de la Merced

The next day – you guessed it! More big bangs starting at 4:30 AM. In fact, so far EVERY day in September has started with loud fireworks—like cannon shots—at 4:30 AM.

“¿Por qué hay bombas cada mañana a las cuatro y media?” I asked my Nicaraguan friends. It turns out that September is the holy month for La Virgen de la Merced (the Virgin of Mercy), patron saint of León. Many local Catholics pray for her intercession and believe she protects the city in times of catastrophe. The fireworks, they say, will continue every day all month. And there will be a special (meaning bigger and louder) celebration on 24 September, the patron saint’s holy day.

Iglesia de la Virgen de la Merced, Leon

And where do we live? About 250 meters from Iglesia de La Virgen de La Merced. Yes, we live just up the street from the Church of the Virgin of Mercy. Even though I am hard of hearing and sleep with my good ear against the pillow, I never miss hearing a single 4:30 shot. Today we are half way through the month. Fifteen days down, 15 more to go. I won’t need an alarm clock until the first of October.

Flags of Central America

But in León there is more to fireworks in September than just La Virgen de la Merced. Today is Independence Day. On this day in 1821 Nicaragua and all of Central America were granted independence from Spain.

And yesterday was Battle of San Jacinto Day. On 14 September 1856, a battalion of Nicaraguan soldiers defeated the mercenary army of William Walker, a US adventurer and the self-proclaimed President of Nicaragua who was trying to open up the country to settlement by North Americans. It was the beginning of the end for Walker's army. Ever since that day valiant struggle against imperial-minded interveners from the US has been a potent political image and a source of swelling Nicaraguan pride.


The combination of those two holidays makes this the most patriotic time of the year. Parades of hundreds of marching children (pre-school through high school), colorful fiestas, thousands of people enjoying the celebrations. 

Here are some scenes from the parade.

Thousands Along the Parade Route

Top Student -Ruben Dario Preschool

A Preschool Drum Corps

It was a busy and noisy holiday weekend in Leon. But today, a legal holiday, it is quiet in the city. No one is working, no students are at the universities, the normally busy medical clinic across the street is closed.

All is quiet. Until 4:30 AM.