La creencia general anterior, era que Anastasio Somoza no servia. Actualmente se dice que Enrique Bolanos no sirve y, el que venga despues de Bolanos tampoco servira para nada. Por eso estoy empezando a sospechar que el problema no esta en lo ladron que haya sido el maldito Arnoldo Aleman, o en lo despota que sigue siendo Daniel Ortega, o en lo ingenua que lucio Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

El problema esta en nosotros. La mayor pobreza que existe en Nicaragua es el NICARAGUENSE.

From Personal Memories to a Collective Construction

The fondest memories of my childhood were the summers spent in Nicaragua with my grandparents and amongst my cousins, uncles and aunts. When my mother first left Nicaragua after her marriage, my grandfather told my mother that her children must know from where they came. Since before my birth until the Sandinista Revolution, I spent three months of the year in Nicaragua, primarily in Masaya, my mother's hometown. This is a town where all businesses shutdown during lunch - el almuerzo - to go home eat and sleep, businesses would reopen in the afternoon. I recall at a young age walking the abandoned streets of Masaya at noon when only street dogs were out as families paused the work day to enjoy one another and rest, now few take almuerzo at home.

Amongst my fondest memories of my childhood in the United States is when five of my cousins and two aunts came and stayed with us in San Francisco to escape the violent surge of the revolution into Managua (1979). Eleven of us shared beds, floor, and one tiny bathroom as the Samoza dynasty came to an end. I remember the tumultuous sleep of my three year old cousin, Oscar, who had been terrorized by the sound of bombs encroaching upon their home on the Pan American Road before their temporary asylum.

When I returned to Masaya, the town was terribly damaged. The streets and the Spanish stucco facades of homes were bullet ridden and marked with the silhouette of Sandino. Although the popular revolution succeeded, the economic and political rebuilding of the republic never has.

Nicaragua is a small and economically destitute country with a rich cultural history and a prideful people. The country has a long history of political unrest within itself, toward its immediate neighbors, and the United States. Nicaragua is a country that even when receiving international aid seems to find a way to dismantle economic progress and political stability. Why is this so?

Fallout serves as a depository of personal perspectives concerning the enigma of the Nicaraguan national character. Initiated by requesting personal commentary from individuals representing various generations of one family, Fallout is an open archive of informed and thoughtful insights addressing the past, present and future of Nicaragua.

The content collected in Fallout may potentially serve as a case study of the lasting effects of political instability, U.S. interventionist policy, and globalization upon a developing nation, for others to consider. More directly, the personal insights collected in this webstie will inform a game that presents an overview of popular written histories of Nicaragua embedded with these subjective perspectives. A game built upon the collision of known history with personal accounts.

Accompanying the textual contributions is a graphical history inspired by Nicaraguan painting, murals and graffiti.