“The sounds of Nicaragua...” or, “Why I’ve come to hate roosters”

Gentle breezes passing through the trees, drizzling rain falling upon the rooftop, and the chirping of baby birds coming from the nest outside our window. These are the sounds that do NOT bother us here in Nicaragua. If only these subdued sounds were all we heard here on a daily basis. This is not the case. In fact, this country is one of the loudest places I have ever been. I’m not just referring to the typical traffic noise on the streets or the wind howling outside when we’re trying to fall asleep; instead, our ears our filled with the unique, and now predictable to us, sounds of this country at all hours of the day. Because I don’t want to forget this “symphony of Nicaragua” I’ve grown so accustomed to here, let me share with you a few examples:


-The squeaking of the geckos…
Geckos and lizards are aplenty here, and they enjoy crawling up our walls and on the ceiling at night. (Travis likes to name them when we see them during dinnertime) Did you know they can make a squeaking noise as loud as a bird’s chirping? This is the closest way I can describe it. We’re really not sure what causes the sound or how they produce it so loudly, but it took us about 3 weeks to figure out the sound source was these small little critters.

-When a coconut falls on the roof…
There’s no way to be prepared for this loud bang, and typically it causes us to jump out of our skin in fright with each occurrence. Because all the roofs here are made from aluminum siding, when something as heavy as a coconut drops from the tree there’s no missing it.

-Speaking of the roof…
Cats LOVE to climb up the coconut trees and then they end up on the rooftops. Therefore, it’s not at all unusual to hear these cats scurrying above. But, with the slippery surface of the aluminum, their little paws hold no traction and we often hear them sliding and tumbling down. Even more interesting is when two cats are on the roof having a catfight. Windy days also make for very noisy days with these roofs. There’s been many a time when the wind is so strong and loud it sounds like our roof is about to rip off the house and take flight.

-May they rest in peace…
This one took us a few “listenings” to determine what was being said, but it is customary here in Nicaragua to announce to the whole city when a loved one has died, oftentimes just hours after it has happened. How do they do this? Well, you know those large, old school speaker contraptions connected to vehicles that sometimes blare out announcements during a parade, a political rally, or a big public event? They were common in the US in the past, but with advanced technology they are pretty rare now. Here in Nica these speaker-equipped cars are a very typical spectacle. In fact, we’re pretty convinced that each city must have at least 5-8 official vehicles that are ready with drivers to carry any announcement, based on the need. Earplugs must be an accessory that are included with the job of the driver, because we’re pretty sure if you had this job your hearing would be damaged after just one announcement. To explain, we can be in the back bedroom of our house with our front door closed and still clearly hear every part of the message being repetitively played out front on the street.

Anyway, when someone dies, we have learned that the person’s family hires an announcement car to drive through every street in the city with a personal message, usually explaining the cause of death, time of death and the details of the upcoming funeral. Although it’s all in Spanish, we know right away when it’s the news of a dead person, because it’s accompanied by sad and soothing music in the background. It’s actually rather sad and depressing because being surrounded by these sounds bring you instantly into grief for the person’s family. These announcement cars are not only used for the dead, but for many purposes in the city. I’m really not sure why they even have a newspaper in Nicaragua because all the news and current events can be learned just by keeping your windows open and paying attention to messages coming out of these passing cars. Everything from news about upcoming festivals, sales going on in stores, or the opening of a new restaurant. You literally don’t have to leave your home, receive a newspaper, or even own a TV to get the news here.

-No need to visit the market…
Here in Nica, the market comes to you. Just hang out in your house all day and wait for the vendors to walk up your street selling the things you need. All you have to do, once again, is keep your ears alert to the sounds of the vendors calling out their products in the street. “Naranjas dulce!” (sweet oranges) “Helado!” (ice cream) “Rellenos!” “Nacatamales!” (hot Nican cuisines made with cornmeal) “Gaseosas!” (sodas) “Tomates!” “Tortillas!” “Las Veduras!” (squashes and vegetables) “Ajo!” (strings of garlic bulbs) “Juevos!” (eggs) “Pan Caliente!” (warm bread fresh out of the oven) “Bananas!” (very typical to be sold with a bunch still on the branch)

These vendors work very hard. They don’t just pass by on the street and wait for people to come out to them. Instead, they walk up to every door and yell inside to get the attention of the inhabitants. Like all of our neighbors, we usually keep our main wooden door open and just leave our open-air door (made of rod-iron bars) locked to allow for the breezes to come through. The vendors come to our doorstep and yell “Buenos!” (Kind of like a hello and good morning combined) and repeat their “call” of their product names until they get our attention to come to the door where we say our typical “no gracias” every time. The sounds of their call are very distinctive; therefore, if you have a favorite vendor you’d easily recognize the sound of his voice after a few visits. It’s amazing, day after day they come by again, either by pushing their food in a wheelbarrow cart or balancing it in a huge basket on their heads. These are their daily jobs. Then there’s the whole other set of the “bus vendors” who also exhibit quite an impressive talent as they sell their goods all day jumping on and off buses and yelling out their familiar calls.

-Why you never forget to bring out your trash…
Travis and I don’t have to worry about remembering which days are trash days on our street. The trash truck reminds us between 6-7am on Wednesday and Saturday mornings as we wake up to the sound of cow bells ringing from the truck loudly enough for every person to come running out with their bags of trash. (You can’t put the trash out the night before here- without people owning covered trashcans, the bags alone lying on the street would be an awesome late-night meal for the many stray dogs prowling about)

-No pirating allowed…
There is no shortage of pirated music and copied DVD’s on the streets here. It’s cheaper to buy a pirated DVD, for $1, than to rent one at the video store for $1.50. Amazingly, the quality is okay, the films are viewable, and they are surprisingly legal as well. However, when it comes to the radio, the stations don't want their songs to be copied and pirated. So, during every song that is played (on the 2 English music stations with the sometimes horrible 80's and 90's music), there is a 3 second interruption and service announcement saying the station name, "Feelings" in this hilarious voice, and then the song continues. It cracks us up every time. With this interruption, you can't copy the song and reproduce it. Travis and I can about predict when we'll hear it during each song and we like to beat the announcer to it.

Cock o doodlely doo…
If I never hear a rooster crow again, I will be a very happy person. It seems the roosters here don't need the daybreak to make them sing out, any time of the day is just fine by them. In fact, they don’t seem to tire easily being that about every 3 seconds we hear the good ole cock o doodle doo. It doesn't help that about everyone here owns a rooster and several chickens to boot. We've always got a chorus of rooster calls surrounding us to remind us they are here.

The resonant presence of Catholicism…
Latin America is by a whole predominantly Catholic. This is evident by the historical cathedrals, statues of the Virgin Mary, and frequent religious celebrations in the streets. It is also evident through sound. Every hour, on the hour, all the churches in the city ring their bells. This is not just a light and gentle “ring… ring… ring…,” this is a full-blown powerful clanging of the bells for at least 10-15 seconds by the bell ringers’ fervent touch. Then on Sunday, in the case that you forget to wear your watch, the church bells conveniently ring every fifteen minutes, all day long. As you might imagine, this most likely prevents anyone from sleeping in and forgetting to attend mass, being that this lovely ringing begins at 5am. Just take a guess how much we enjoy being awakened up by this.

A little more welcoming is the music we hear streaming from the churches on Sundays, and various other evenings for services during the week. We've heard everything from traditional hymns sung in Spanish, choral pieces, and instrument-accompanied praise band music. These churches definitely have their speakers and sound systems mastered with the volumes set high. We can hear it on the streets, when we're hiking in the mountains, and even when we're dining in the kitchen. At times we can even decipher parts of the sermon as this is also echoed through the loud speaker.

One thing we've really admired here though is the freedom the Nicas have to display their faith. There is no shame or fear of persecution attached… people walk freely down the streets holding their Bibles, almost every bus and taxi has religious expressions boldly and brightly painted on their vehicles, and there are multiple pictures of the Virgin Mary in every household. Music and media are also a part of this freedom of expression. Travis and I have been in several different chicken buses that play Spanish praise music for all to hear… and twice, we've even been on buses that show Bible story films in English with Spanish subtitles. I can't imagine what would happen in the USA if a Greyhound bus driver decided he wanted to show a movie about Moses or Noah to his paying passengers, or if he was to play the latest CD of Christian praise songs. It wouldn't happen, nor could it happen in the USA. This boldness and fervency of faith is something really unique about many of the people here.

Just a few more…

-The cab drivers that hope to gain customers by ardently honking at us when they drive past.

-Live mariachi music being played next door in the middle of the night.

-Children who see us solely as “white gringos” and take the opportunity to hold out their hand and ask us for “un peso,” whether they are poor and in need or not. Many times we’ve been asked by kids with toys and pastries in their hands, who still just have to ask because they’ve obviously been well-trained by their parents or peers.

-Children and adults everywhere like to practice their English skills on us. Rarely do people greet us in Spanish, it’s always in English and it never makes sense. That’s because they often say “Good-Bye!” to us as a greeting, not hello or “Good Morning.” The customary term of greeting here for everything is “Adios,” and although this translates to goodbye, it’s also the way to greet. So, every time we’re out and about, we hear “good-bye” over and over again. Just for fun we always respond back in Spanish, not English.

Finally, what are the sounds we don’t hear in Nicaragua?

-Our cell phones ringing (we don’t have cell phones)

-Airplanes, helicopters (haven’t seen one in the sky since we landed)

-Freeway noise (they don’t exist)

-“This shower is so warm I want to stay inside!”