Sandinista Revolution Murals

Managua is scattered with large revolutionary murals, painted on exterior walls throughout the city. They depict scenes from the 1979 revolution, portraits of Sandinista martyrs, indigenous heroes like Sandino and Diriangén, and idealised images of Nicaraguan campesinos and workers. The style ranges from socialist realism to a more vivid, tropical colour palette influenced by pre-Columbian art.

The densest concentration is in the old centre around the lakefront plaza, where several major works are visible on the walls of government buildings and the old FSLN headquarters. The murals have been painted, erased, and repainted multiple times as successive governments came and went, and the current versions reflect the current government's political narratives fairly directly. Even allowing for the propaganda, they are worth looking at as public art — the best of them are genuinely skilled and energetic.

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A story
After the 1979 revolution, the Sandinista government launched a major public art programme inspired by the Mexican muralists. Artists painted large revolutionary murals on buildings across Managua, depicting heroes of the insurrection, scenes of struggle, and visions of the new Nicaragua. Many were whitewashed during the Chamorro government's conservative turn in the 1990s; others have been restored or repainted under the Ortega governments since 2007.

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