Lake
Nicaragua. Isla de Ometepe.
En Todas
Partes, Yo Veo Rojo y Negro.
(I see Red and Black everywhere.)
Flags.
Silhouettes.
Cowboy Hats.
I wonder what it's all about.
My taxicab driver tells me,
Augusto
Cesar Sandino.
“Nicaragua’s Robin Hood.”
Bandit. Hero. Symbol.
Charismatic Leader.
Intrigued, I ask for a story.
In an excited mixture of Spanish and broken English, he explains:
Nicaraguan Civil War.
Liberals vs. Conservatives.
US Invasion and Occupation.
Threat of Military
Intervention.
Espino Negro Accord.
Enforced
by US Marines.
Forced Cease-Fire.
Conservatives Retain Power
Despite Defeat.
US Forms Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Nationalists Refuse to Surrender.
Sandino is Their Leader.
Nationalist
Resistance, Rebellion, Revolution.
Declared War on “Colossus of the North”.
Come on you pack of drug fiends,
Come on and murder us on our own land.
I am waiting for you on my feet at the head of my patriotic soldiers,
And I don't care how many of you there are.
You should know that when this happens,
The destruction of your mighty power
Will make the Capitol shake in Washington,
And your blood will redden the white dome
That crowns the famous White House
Where you plot your crimes.
-Sandino
Anti-Imperialist Guerilla
Crusade.
Machine Guns vs. Machetes.
Simultaneous Civil and Class
War.
The Army in Defence of the
National Sovereignty of Nicaragua. (EDSN)
Patria
Libre o Morir
Free
Homeland or Death
Proletarian Explosion.
In Pursuit of Divine
Justice.
“I will not abandon my resistance
until the pirate invaders,
assassins of weak people,
are expelled from my country.
I will make them realize
That their crimes will cost them dear.
There will be bloody combat.”
-Sandino
Some carry the revolution in the mouth to live for it,
Others carry it in their heart to die for it.
It Became a Paradox, that Guerilla War.
Who’s Who?
Civilians? Rebels?
Supporters of Rebels?
Paradox Led to Unforgivable
Marine-GN violence on innocent Civilians.
“El Enemigo de Mi Enemigo es Mi Amigo” (-MM)
Increases Popular Support
for Rebels.
He pulls over to show me some street
art we are passing by.
The story continues.
A Stalemate Ensues.
Inauguration of Juan
Bautista Sacasa.
“Good Neighbor Policy”/
Great Depression.
Marines withdraw.
Sandino Signs Peace Treaty
and Agrees to Disarm.
Remains Dedicated to Fighting Unconstitutional
Guardia Nacional.
Sandino is
Assassinated.
Sandino’s Legacy.
Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional.
FSLN.
Sandinista National Liberation Front.
Socialist Political Party.
Prevails to this day.
Sources used for historical reference:
http://www.sandinorebellion.com/mjs/mjs-intel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista_National_Liberation_Front
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_C%C3%A9sar_Sandino
From your source links at the bottom it becomes apparent that your post is covering the rather weighty topic of the Sandino Rebellion in Nicaragua, but you do it briefly and creatively through images and accompanying short lines which seem to follow a narrative pattern.
ReplyDeleteThough, your topic may be a little bit confusing or completely unknown to someone who has no knowledge of Augusto Sandino and the Sandinista National Liberation Front. I myself have encountered this topic in my major so I understood the sentences you chose. However, other people would probably need to read up on the Sandino Rebellion in order to fully understand the context of your post.
On the other side though, what did you very well was condense a five year long conflict in Nicaragua into a brief, yet articulate post. Your images obviously tell a story which then eventually climax to the point of Sandino being assassinated and then you end with his enduring legacy. I view the Lake Nicaragua picture as the calm before the revolution begins. The next two pictures, which both have the anonymous, silhouetted cowboy in them are most mysterious. Here I draw a criticism. All of your pictures have neither caption, nor explanation, and some are also in Spanish. What is the significance of these photos to your blog, the Sandino revolution, or perhaps your own life? At what points of the conflict were these photos relevant? A translation of language would be nice so I could further place the images you have chosen into the context of your blog.
I also noticed the bolding of font interspersed in your post. Your boldings are declarations of serious events, so the stark white on black was a good stylistic choice. Augusto Cesar Sandino, Nicaragua’s Robin Hood, US Invasion and Occupation, Nationalists Refuse to Surrender, and Nationalist Resistance, Rebellion, and Revolution , Patria Libre o Morir, and Sandino Is Assassinated were the some of the many boldings which stuck out to me. I feel if we took everything you bolded, that would be the thesis of your post.