Waving the Sandinista flag with Rachel.We knew all about the celebrations- it was the question on many people's lips in the weeks leading up to the 19th of July- 'Are you going to the Plaza?'. On the 19th July 1979, the country was finally officially liberated from nearly 50 years of rule by one right-wing family. The years of Somoza rule saw nearly all the wealth and resources of Nicaragua end up in the hands of the family's private companies and channelled out through the USA. It was the end of a bloody revolution which had seen Somoza's airforce carpet bombing cities in the North, and brave Sandinista guerrilla fighters, supported by the poor farming families, pitted against the American trained National Guard; old rifles and home-made bombs against high-powered machine guns and rocket launchers. Unfortunately this was not the end of the suffering as throughout the 80's the US government, with money channelled from arms sold to Iran, and private backers, funded the Contra rebels in an attempt to destabilise the Sandinista government (destabilise meaning the rape, torture and large-scale massacre of thousands of innocent villagers). But the victory did lead to land reforms, freedom of speech, health, education and roads for rural communities and eventually to a peaceful democracy.
We arrived in Managua on Saturday with our English friend Nick and Rachel and stayed with Belkis, a Nicaraguan journalist friend of Nick's. We set out in the evening to check out the set-up in and around the main square before all the hoards arrived on Sunday. Between bars, we had a wander round the plaza late on Saturday night when there were aleady plenty of stalls set up selling tacos, barbequed meat, t-shirts, hats and flags. We were joined by more friends of Nick, a Nicaraguan family, and one of them, Pedro, gave us an animated and fascinating tour of the revolutionary sights, including the tomb of Carlos Fonseca, the founder of the FSLN, the Sandinista party.
The next day we joined hundreds of thousands of people in the main square in melting heat to listen to Daniel Ortega, the president, give his annual speech. 
It was a rousing affair, speaking out against the American intelligence agencies, their participation in the Honduran coup and their setting up military bases in Colombia. He made the distinction between US foreign policy and the US people, which was fortunate for us, as we look like Americans and he even offered some support for Obama. It was a great family atmosphere and most people were there for the day out and the celebrations rather than pinning on every word of his speech. After it was over, the band started up and the sound of thousands of noisy bangers filled the sky. 
We joined in, dancing around and were received warmly by the fellow partygoers. We were offered shots of a strong spirit, aguardiente, by a group of lads, and were given a Sandinista flag to wave, by another group, who wanted their photos taken with us. As the crowd dispersed, we made our way back to Belkis' mum's house, which had been turned into a bar for the weekend. We met more entertaining and increasingly drunk Sandinista revellers there and our Rachel was given a t-shirt by Rigoberto, who ended up too drunk to speak, while the American Rachel received a Nicaraguan flag. We headed to a crowded, outdoor basketball court surrounded by bars and stalls where a local Sandinista youth group had set up a stage and organised a musical line-up of impressive quality. 
With American Rachel, Nick and Belkis waiting for a band to start. We had a brilliant night listening to some really good, politically charged music, waving our flag and dancing with lots of locals. It was an inspiring and fun day, sharing in the recent history of the country, getting an insight into the importance of politics for the people, and being welcomed so warmly into a giant, friendly and fun-loving community.
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