“¿Qué sos, Nicaragua, para dolerme tanto?” Gioconda Belli and the Nicaraguan Cause”

This article traces Gioconda Belli’s trajectory as a writer, feminist, and political activist. Belli, who is known as one of the organic intellectuals of the Nicaraguan Sandinista Revolution, has consistently used her platform as one of the most renowned contemporary Latin American writers to provide a voice that transcends national borders to the Nicaraguan cause since the early 1970s. Through the analysis of some of her most notable works, some of her contributions in the national and international press, as well as social media publications, we examine the way her many roles have informed each other over the years and accomplished a two-fold goal: on the one hand, she has documented and theorized on the recent history of Nicaragua, in addition to keeping those in power in check; on the other hand, she has become one of the foremothers of Nicaraguan feminism. As this article shows, not only has she crafted—both in writing and action— a roadmap for younger generations of women, but she has also documented and influenced the evolution of feminism in Nicaragua.

Faith, Liberation, and Revolution in Fire From the Mountain by Omar Cabezas

Published in 1982, the testimonio Fire from the Mountain (La montaña es más que una inmensa estepa verde) by Omar Cabezas continues to generate interest in the field of Latin American literature, particularly amongst critics dedicated to the testimonio and post-testimonio. Considered one of the fundamental works of contemporary testimonio, Fire from the Mountain narrates the political and ideological coming of age of Cabezas during the years preceding the Sandinista revolution (1977-1979) in Nicaragua, the origins of his relationship with the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), and his efforts in the struggle against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. Throughout the text there are frequent references to his own faith, Catholicism, and God as he comes to terms with the plight of the Nicaragua people and considers the moral imperative of the revolution to depose Somoza. Our intention is to demonstrate that, in Fire from the Mountain, Cabezas implicitly considers the influence of his faith, Catholicism, and God on the revolutionary struggle. We will first contextualize our study within discussions on the Latin American testimonio and proceed to frame our study of Fire from the Mountain within a liberational perspective that references liberation theology as our theoretical touchstone.

Mexicans in Nicaragua: Revolution and propaganda in Sandinista documentaries of the University Center for Cinematographic Studies (CUEC-UNAM)

Film production played a decisive role in the Nicaraguan Revolution. During the preparation of the 1979 Ofensiva Final (Final Offensive), the Sandinistas clearly understood the need to produce audio-visual documents that would serve as testimony and political propaganda of this historic moment. To do so, they sought the support of internationalist filmmakers among whom a group of Mexicans were most prominent. This article focuses on materials on the Sandinista Revolution preserved at the film archive of the University Center for Cinematographic Studies (CUEC) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It analyses them in relation to the role of left-wing film internationalism in political documentary in Latin America and builds an ‘other’ history of a Mexican film institution that in the 1970s was uniquely politicized as a result of the 1968 Mexican student movement and, later, the influence of Latin American exiles. As a particular case study, this article rescues one of the key figures of Mexican internationalism during the Sandinista Revolution, Adrián Carrasco Zanini Molina, and the role of Mexican filmmakers in the creation of institutions dedicated to film production in Nicaragua such as the Nicaraguan Film Institute (INCINE).