Nicaraguan American
Encyclopedia
Nicaraguan American are Americans of Nicaraguan
Nicaraguan
Nicaraguans are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world...

 ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 177,684 Americans of full or partial Nicaraguan ancestry living in the U.S. in 2000 and an estimated 281,167 in 2005.

Immigrational History

Nicaraguans have immigrated to the United States in small groups since the early 1900s, but their presence was especially felt over the last three decades of the 20th century. The Nicaraguan community has concentrated in three major urban areas: Miami, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. And also in the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. More specifically Houston. According to the U.S. Census 1997 yearbook, more than 50 percent of Nicaraguans lived in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, 35 percent reported living in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, mostly around Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

; and only 7 percent were registered in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

-New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 area. In general, the Nicaraguan-American community is financially better off than most Central American groups. Nevertheless, there are major differences amongst the Nicaraguan American community: the most affluent community is located in the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

-New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 area, and the poorest are found in the Miami area. Nicaraguan Americans are Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

-speaking and predominately Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

. They celebrate the patron saints of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 with festivals and processions, which also provide a context for artistic and cultural expressions of the local identity. The most important patronal festivals for communities in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 include Santa Ana, San Sebastian, La Purisima, San Jeronimo and La Griteria.

The U.S. census 1997 yearbook reported that roughly 239,000 Nicaraguans lived in the United States. The figures, published by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...

 (now the Department of Homeland Security) statistical yearbooks are preferred by some analysts and policymakers mostly because the large majority of Nicaraguans have applied for refugee status in the United States and have filed a request for political asylum with INS offices. According to INS figures, 23,261 were admitted as permanent residents between 1976 and 1985; 75,264 were admitted between 1986 and 1993; and 94,582 between 1994 and 2002, with a total of 193,107 Nicaraguan immigrants being granted legal status since 1976.

The earliest documents of immigration from Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 to the United States was combined in total with those of other Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

n countries. However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau some 7,500 Nicaraguans legally immigrated from 1967 to 1976. An estimated 28,620 Nicaraguans were living in the U.S. in 1970, 90% of which self-reported as white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

on the 1970 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

. Most Nicaraguan immigrants during the late 1960s were women: there were only 60 male Nicaraguan immigrants for every 100 female immigrants during this period. In 1998 more than two million Nicaraguans were left homeless due to hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...

, as a result many Nicaraguans received permanent residence or temporary protected status (TPS) in the late 1990s.

According to the 1990 U.S. Census
United States Census, 1990
The Twenty-first United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 Census....

 168,659 of the total 202,658 documented Nicaraguans in the U.S. were born in Nicaragua. In 1992 approximately 10–12% of the Nicaraguan population had emigrate
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...

d. These emigrants tended to be disproportionately of working age, better educated, and more often white-collar workers than nonmigrants. In addition, emigrants were more likely to come from larger premigration households and higher income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...

 households.

Motives for emigration

During the 1979 uprising, many wealthy families left Nicaragua. The Sandinista revolution during the 1980s brought a wave of Nicaraguan refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

s into the U.S. and the largest wave of documented immigrants. Over 62 percent of the total documented immigration from 1979 to 1988 occurred after 1984. Another motive for emigration during the 80s was the Contra war
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...

.

Many Nicaraguans who immigrated did so to escape poverty, in Santa Clara County, California, the Nicaraguan public benefits recipients reported that in their families, 43% have one self-employed person or business owner, and 14% of the families have two such persons.

However, nearly all of the estimated 200,000 Nicaraguans who fled to the U.S. (and other nearby Central American countries) between 1978–1979 returned after the victory of the Sandinistas in 1979.

Demographics

As of the United States 2000 population census, the number of Nicaraguan Americans was 177,684. Approximately 83,533 males and 94,151 females. Of the population, about 76% was 18 or older and just 5% was 65 or older.

Approximately 68% of the Nicaraguan Americans that were 25 or older were high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 graduates or higher and another 11% had received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 or higher. The number of Nicaraguan Americans who had received a bachelor's degree was higher than all other Central American groups in the United States, with the exception of Salvadorans
Salvadoran American
Salvadorian Americans are citizens or residents of the United States of Salvadoran descent. As of 2010 there are 1.6 million Salvadoran Americans in the United States, the fourth-largest Hispanic community by nation of ancestry.They are also known as the nicknamed Salvi people in the USA,...

 who made up 655 thousand, compared to 177 thousand Nicaraguan Americans. The percentage of the population with a bachelor's degree is higher: 16% of Nicaraguan Americans compared to 5.5% of Salvadoran Americans.

Areas of greatest concentration

The largest concentration of Nicaraguan Americans, about 79,559, is mainly in the South Florida area (particularly Miami-Dade County), most notably around the "Little Managua" section of Little Havana
Little Havana
Little Havana is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The approximate boundaries are the Miami River , SW 16th Street , SR 9/West 27th Avenue and I-95...

. Sweetwater, Florida and its surrounding area also has a high concentration of Nicaraguan American, in 2000 16.63% of Sweetwater residents identified as being of Nicaraguan heritage. This was the highest percentage of Nicaraguan Americans of any place in the country. As a result, Sweetwater is also locally known as "Little Managua" after Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...

, the Nicaraguan capital.

California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 hosts the second largest concentration, most notably in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 and San Francisco. The number of Nicaraguan Americans living in California was 51,336 in 2000.

US communities with high percentages of people of Nicaraguan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Nicaraguan ancestry are:


  1. Sweetwater, Florida
    Sweetwater, Florida
    Sweetwater is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,226 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 13,992...

     16.63%
  2. Fountainbleau, Florida
    Fountainbleau, Florida
    Fountainbleau is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 59,764 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Fountainbleau is located at ....

     9.44%
  3. Miami, Florida
    Miami, Florida
    Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

     5.67%
  4. Hialeah Gardens, Florida
    Hialeah Gardens, Florida
    Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S...

     4.87%
  5. Tamiami, Florida
    Tamiami, Florida
    Tamiami is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 55,271 at the 2010 census. Tamiami is a portmanteau of the words "Tampa" and "Miami". The Tamiami Trail, a roadway that connects the two cities, was the reason for this unique combination...

     4.66%
  6. Kendale Lakes, Florida
    Kendale Lakes, Florida
    Kendale Lakes is a census-designated place Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 56,901 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kendale Lakes is located at ....

     4.59%
  7. Richmond West, Florida
    Richmond West, Florida
    Richmond West is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 28,082 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Richmond West is located at ....

     4.19%
  8. Hialeah, Florida
    Hialeah, Florida
    Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...

     4.07%
  9. West Little River, Florida
    West Little River, Florida
    West Little River is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 34,699 at the 2010 census.-Geography:West Little River is located at...

     3.58%
  10. West Miami, Florida
    West Miami, Florida
    West Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,863 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Miami is located at ....

     2.98%
  11. Colma, California
    Colma, California
    Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....

     2.94%
  12. University Park, Florida
    University Park, Florida
    According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...

     2.89%
  13. The Hammocks, Florida
    The Hammocks, Florida
    The Hammocks is an unincorporated census-designated place Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 51,003 at the 2010 census.-Name:The name of the CDP originates from a planned community called The Hammocks...

     2.88%

  1. South Miami Heights, Florida
    South Miami Heights, Florida
    South Miami Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 33,522 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Miami Heights is located at ....

     2.79%
  2. Virginia Gardens, Florida
    Virginia Gardens, Florida
    Virginia Gardens is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,348 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the village had a population of 2,294.- History :...

     2.51%
  3. Kendall, Florida
    Kendall, Florida
    Kendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....

     2.48%
  4. Coral Terrace, Florida
    Coral Terrace, Florida
    Coral Terrace is an unincorporated suburban community and census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,376 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Coral Terrace is located at ....

     2.27%
  5. Westchester, Florida
    Westchester, Florida
    Westchester is a census-designated place in suburban Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,862 at the 2010 census....

     2.25%
  6. Opa-Locka, Florida
    Opa-locka, Florida
    Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....

     2.22%
  7. Carol City, Florida
    Carol City, Florida
    Carol City is a former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 59,443 at the 2000 census.Originally called "Coral City" by developers, pressure from the city of Coral Gables forced a name change to Carol City...

     2.20%
  8. Princeton, Florida
    Princeton, Florida
    Princeton is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,090 at the 2000 census.- History :...

     2.15%
  9. Miami Springs, Florida
    Miami Springs, Florida
    Miami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...

     2.06%
  10. Medley, Florida
    Medley, Florida
    Medley is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The community was named after its founder, Sylvester Medley. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,059...

     2.00%
  11. Daly City, California
    Daly City, California
    Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

     1.98%
  12. Olympia Heights, Florida
    Olympia Heights, Florida
    Olympia Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 13,488 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Olympia Heights is located at ....

     1.80%

U.S. communities with the most residents born in Nicaragua

Top 25 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Nicaragua are:


  1. Sweetwater, FL 19.7%
  2. Canal Point, FL 12.4%
  3. Fountainbleau, FL 12.2%
  4. North Westside, FL 10.7%
  5. Miami, FL 7.2%
  6. Gladeview, FL 6.5%
  7. Rollingwood, CA 5.8%
  8. Hialeah, FL and Kendale Lakes, FL 5.6%
  9. Tamiami, FL 5.3%
  10. Kendall West, FL 5.1%
  11. Hialeah Gardens, FL 5.0%
  12. Richmond West, FL 4.7%
  13. Stacey Street, FL 4.6%
  14. Kendale Lakes-Lindgren Acres, FL 4.4%

  1. West Little River, FL 4.1%
  2. West Miami, FL 3.9%
  3. Coral Terrace, FL 3.6%
  4. University Park, FL 3.5%
  5. Palmetto Estates, FL and Pinewood, FL 3.4%
  6. The Hammocks, FL and South Miami Heights, FL 3.3%
  7. Bayview-Montalvin, CA, Virginia Gardens, FL, and Medley, FL 3.2%
  8. Lely Resort, FL 3.1%
  9. Opa-locka, FL 3.0%
  10. The Crossings, FL 2.9%
  11. Naranja, FL and Miami Springs, FL 2.8%
  12. Kendall, FL 2.7%

Nicaraguan Americans

  • Patrick Argüello
    Patrick Argüello
    Patricio José Argüello Ryan , known as Patrick Argüello, was a Nicaraguan American who was shot and killed while attempting to hijack El Al Flight 219 in September 1970 as part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's Dawson's Field hijackings.-Youth:Argüello was born in San...

    , participated in the Dawson's Field hijackings
    Dawson's Field hijackings
    In the Dawson's Field hijackings five jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine...

     and is considered a martyr of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
    Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
    The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...

  • Marvin Benard
    Marvin Benard
    Marvin Larry Benard [buh-NARD] is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who batted and threw left-handed....

    , a Major League Baseball player
  • Maurice Benard
    Maurice Benard
    Maurice Benard is an American actor. He is known primarily for his portrayal of romantic mobster Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, a role he has portrayed since 1993.-Career:...

    , an actor on American soap operas All My Children
    All My Children
    All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...

     and General Hospital
    General Hospital
    General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....

    .
  • Claudia Bermúdez
    Claudia Bermudez
    Claudia Bermúdez is a Nicaraguan-American politician and entrepreneur. She ran for the United States Congress as a Republican in California's 9th congressional district...

    , politician, ran for the United States Congress
    United States Congress
    The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

  • Randy Caballero
    Randy Caballero
    Randy Michaels Caballero is an undefeated Nicaraguan American professional boxer in the Featherweight division. Caballero is the current WBC Youth Intercontinental Super Bantamweight Champion.-Amateur Career:...

    , (born March 18, 1991 in Coachella, California) is an undefeated Nicaraguan American professional boxer in the Featherweight division
  • Róger Calero
    Róger Calero
    Róger Calero is a Nicaraguan American journalist and one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He was SWP candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008, and for the United States Senate in New York in 2006....

    , ran for U.S. President
    President of the United States
    The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

     in the 2004 election.
  • Oswaldo Castillo
    Oswaldo Castillo
    Oswaldo Castillo is a Nicaraguan American gardener/construction worker-turned-actor.Castillo was born in Nicaragua and, in 1986, fled to the United States after being tortured by Somoza militants for suspected opposition activities. He settled in Los Angeles, California and worked in construction,...

    , actor, most notable role includes the one in The Hammer
    The Hammer (film)
    The Hammer is a 2007 comedy film starring Adam Carolla and Heather Juergensen. It was directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld.-Plot:Jerry Ferro is pushing 40 years old and is not what you would call a success. He works part-time in construction as a carpenter and part-time as a boxing instructor at a...

    .
  • Michael Cordúa
    Michael Cordúa
    Michael Cordúa is a Nicaraguan-born American restaurateur, entrepreneur, owner of Cordúa Restaurants, and award winning self-taught chef. Cordúa is the owner and executive chef of 6 restaurants in the Houston, Texas area...

     (1961), restaurateur, entrepreneur, businessman, award winning self-taught chef
    Chef
    A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

    .
  • DJ Craze
    DJ Craze
    DJ Craze , born Aristh Delgado, is a Nicaraguan American DJ who plays hip hop, Miami bass, breaks, Dubstep, drum n bass, and practices turntablism. He is the only solo DJ in history to claim the DMC World DJ Championships trophy three times consecutively .-Biography:DJ Craze was born in Managua,...

    , only DJ in history to win 3 consecutive World DMC Champion titles.
  • Salomón de la Selva
    Salomón de la Selva
    Salomón de la Selva born in León Nicaragua on March 20, 1893 and died in Paris, France on February 5, 1959 was a Nicaraguan poet and honorary member of the Mexican Academy of Language.-Biography:...

    , poet, author of Tropical Town and Other Poems
  • Miguel D'Escoto
    Miguel d'Escoto
    Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, born in Los Angeles on February 5, 1933, is a Nicaraguan diplomat, politician and former Catholic priest of the Maryknoll congregation of priests. He was recently nominated as Libyan Representative to the UN, a request which is currently pending...

    , Roman Catholic priest and former foreign minister.
  • Omar D'Leon
    Omar D'Leon
    Omar D'León is a well-known Nicaraguan painter and poet.D'León studied nine years at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Nicaragua under its director Rodrigo Penalba...

    , a painter and poet.
  • Bill Guerin
    Bill Guerin
    William Robert Guerin is an American former professional ice hockey player and current player development coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guerin played eighteen seasons in the National Hockey League winning two Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins teams...

    , an NHL hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins
    Pittsburgh Penguins
    The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...

    .
  • Edward'O
    Edward'O
    Eduardo José Caldera Cranshaw better known as Edward'O is an American astroanalyst and former co-host of Telemundo's dating show, 12 Corazones.-Early life:...

    , an astronalyst
    Astrologer
    An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...

     and co-host of 12 Corazones
    12 Corazones
    12 Corazones is a Spanish-language dating game show produced in the United States for the television network Telemundo since 2004, based on its namesake Argentine TV show format The show is filmed in Los Angeles and revolves around the twelve Zodiac signs that identify each contestant...

    .
  • Bianca Jagger
    Bianca Jagger
    Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...

    , human rights advocate and ex-wife of Mick Jagger.
  • Diana López
    Diana López
    Diana López is an American born Olympic Taekwondo competitor of Nicaraguan ethnicity. She represented the USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics...

    , Olympic bronze medalist in the sport of taekwondo.
  • Mark López, Olympic silver medalist in the sport of taekwondo.
  • Steven López
    Steven López
    Steven López is a 2000 and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and a 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist in taekwondo. In 2001, he won the Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship, and in 2003 he won the Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship which he has since won in 2005, 2007 and 2009 making him the first...

    , two time Olympic gold medalist in the sport of taekwondo
    Taekwondo
    Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

    .
  • Dennis Martinez
    Dennis Martínez
    José Dennis Martínez Emilia , nicknamed "El Presidente" , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...

    , a Major League Baseball Player (1976–1998).
  • Camilo Mejía
    Camilo Mejía
    Camilo Ernesto Mejía is a Nicaraguan American who was a former staff sergeant of the Florida National Guard, best known for being an anti-war activist and deserter...

    , a former Staff Sergeant of the Florida National Guard and anti-war
    Anti-war
    An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...

     activist
  • Lester Meléndez
    Lester Meléndez
    Lester Meléndez is a Nicaraguan football . He is also a member of Nicaragua national football team.On May 18, 2008, Melendez trained with the Estonian Meistriliiga club JK Tallinna Kalev...

     (1981), professional soccer player for the University of Miami
    University of Miami
    The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

    .
  • T-Bone
    T-Bone (rapper)
    T-Bone is a Christian rapper. His father is Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny...

    , rapper.
  • Tony Meléndez
    Tony Melendez
    José Antonio Meléndez Rodríguez is a Nicaraguan American guitar player, composer and singer and songwriter who was born without arms. His mother took Thalidomide while pregnant, which caused his disability. Meléndez has learned to play the guitar with his feet.-Career:Meléndez began playing and...

    , singer, composer, writer and musician who was born with no arms.
  • Christianne Meneses Jacobs
    Christianne Meneses Jacobs
    Christianne Meneses Jacobs is a Nicaraguan American writer, editor, and teacher. She is also publisher of Iguana, the United States' only Spanish-language magazine for children.-Nicaragua :...

    , publisher of Iguana, the United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

    ' only Spanish-language magazine for children.
  • Franck de Las Mercedes
    Franck de Las Mercedes
    Franck de Las Mercedes, is a Nicaraguan American Popstract Expressionist visual artist raised in New York City. With a self-obtained education, straight from the aisles of the NYC Public Library, de Las Mercedes has emerged as one of the country's most prolific visual artists in recent years.From...

    , a painter
  • David Obregon
    David Obregón
    José David Obregón is a Nicaragua professional boxer who fights out of Miami, Florida.-Professional career:...

    , a professional boxer
  • Claudia Poll
    Claudia Poll
    Claudia Maria Poll Ahrens is an Olympic gold-medalist and National Record holding swimmer from Costa Rica. To date , she is Costa Rica's only gold-medalist, having won the country first gold Olympic medal at the 1996 Olympics in the 200 meter freestyle. Her sister, Silvia, won Costa Rica's first...

    , Nicaraguan born swimmer.
  • Silvia Poll, Nicaraguan born swimmer.
  • Horacio Peña
    Horacio Peña (Author)
    Horacio Peña is a professor, writer, and poet.Currently an instructor at Huston-Tillotson College and the Seminary of the Southwest—both in Austin, Texas, he is often recognized as the most important Nicaraguan American poet....

    , professor, writer, and poet.
  • Hope Portocarrero
    Hope Portocarrero
    Hope Portocarrero Somoza Baldocchi was the first lady of Nicaragua, the wife of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and mother of Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero.She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1968....

    , former First Lady of Nicaragua (1967–1972).
  • James Quesada
    James Quesada
    Dr. James Quesada is a Nicaraguan American Anthropologist and professor at San Francisco State University's Department of Anthropology....

    , anthropologist and professor.
  • Mari Ramos
    Mari Ramos
    Mari Ramos is a Nicaraguan American weather anchor for CNN International in Atlanta, Georgia. She presents weather segments on World Report, World Business Today, International Desk, The Brief and Prism. Ramos also appears occasionally on CNN/US, Headline News and Airport Network...

    , weather anchor for CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

    .
  • Hilda Solis
    Hilda Solis
    Hilda Lucia Solis is the 25th United States Secretary of Labor, serving in the Obama administration. She is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, representing the 31st and 32nd congressional districts of California that include...

    , U.S. congresswoman and the 25th United States Secretary of Labor
    United States Secretary of Labor
    The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....

    .
  • Eve Torres
    Eve Torres
    Eve Marie Torres is an American dancer, model, and professional wrestler. She is working for WWE on Raw brand. She is a two time WWE Divas Champion.Torres began her career as a model and dancer...

    , WWE Diva
    WWE Diva
    Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....

    , professional wrestler
  • J Smooth
    J Smooth
    Jorhel Aburto better known as J Smooth is a bilingual Hip Hop and Reggaeton singer of Nicaraguan ethnicity.-Career:In 2007, J Smooth was named "Artist of the Year" by reggaetonnica.com voters, for his musical contributions to the hip-hop and reggaeton genre and also for his many contributions to...

    , a bi-lingual hip hop
    Hip hop
    Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

     and reggaeton singer.
  • Torombolo
    Torombolo
    Carlos Callejas better known as Torombolo is a reggaeton and hip hop singer with "Camillion Entertainment Latino".-Early life:...

    , a reggaeton
    Reggaeton
    Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...

     singer.
  • Gabriel Traversari
    Gabriel Traversari
    Gabriel Traversari is a Nicaraguan American actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter, painter and photographer.-Early life:...

    , actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter and painter.
  • Donald Vega
    Donald Vega
    Donald Vega is a Nicaraguan-born American jazz pianist and music composer.-Early life:Vega was born in Masaya, Nicaragua, a town well known for its handicrafts. He was born with a severe cleft palate, for which he has had many surgeries to correct and save his hearing. He fled the country at the...

    , jazz musician and composer.
  • Nastassja Bolivar
    Nastassja Bolivar
    Nastassja Bolivar is a Nicaraguan Beauty Queen who won the fifth year of Univision's beauty contest/reality television show Nuestra Belleza Latina on May 22, 2011. Bolivar auditioned for Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 in Miami, and was selected by the judges to participate in that reality show...

    , Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011
    Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011
    Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 is the fifth season of Nuestra Belleza Latina and the fifth season to be aired on Univision. The season premiere was on March 6, 2011 at 8pm/7c and the show's finale was Sunday May 22, 2011....

    winner

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK