La Trinidad in Nicaragua, Travel Destinations
Located in the Estelí department of Nicaragua, La Trinidad is a medium-sized municipality with a population of roughly 20,500. Currently only about 40% of this population lives in urban areas while the rest prefer to live out in the country on small farms. The city was officially founded in 1967 but it had been steadily growing long before that date. La Trinidad started many, many years ago when a small cattle ranch belonging to young Lady Garmendia had to be abandoned due to a long period of drought. After a long struggle this young lady decided to abandon her cattle farming operation and return to Granada. Her property was left as a sort of ‘inheritance’ to the settlers living in the region and for many years afterwards served as a resting place for travelers and wagons that made their way through. However, it wasn’t long before some of these travelers and settlers started to make a home for themselves in the area and, within a few years, a small village started to form.
Before long a priest by the name of Pedro Ricardo Perez made the decision to settle here to serve the small community that had developed. Inspired by the three beautiful mountains – Oyanka, Mocuana and Hatillo – that overshadowed the settlement, he decided to call the village ‘La Trinidad’ in 1789. Now that the settlement had a name and a priest, it continued to grow steadily – even though large numbers of agricultural farmers did not have property of their own. It was a common practice at the time to rent land on which to cultivate crops and there were about seven agricultural cooperatives in the municipality that helped the local farmers to make the best of their situations. During the Spanish Colonial era, it was said that the spirit of the Lady Garmendia – or ‘the princess’ – would terrorize unfaithful men and drunkards. Many today still believe that she lives in a cave in the hills of Mocuana. The town continued to grow steadily until it reached the size and level of activity that it enjoys today.
You will find La Trinidad roughly 120 kilometers north of Managua. The city has shown fantastic growth and development and currently most of its citizens enjoy the basic public services that one expects to find in a city of this size. When you arrive you will find that there is public lighting, telephones, running water, paved streets, churches, stores, a police station and primary and secondary school. There is also cable TV, restaurants, cinemas, hotels and a few pretty parks for picnicking in. The city is beautifully tranquil and secure – regardless of the time of day – and many people visit just to enjoy this and the wonderfully fresh climate. La Trinidad is also home to one of the largest baking industries in the country: the Aurora Bakery. Many tourists often visit on the 2nd and 3rd of February to witness the Running of the Bulls in honor of the Virgin de Candlemas.
