In one month Hieke, Gerbich, Shantih and Tom where shown the robes by locals in Nicaragua. For the World2xPress Xplorers project these four Dutch students spend the summer of 2007 in Nicaragua. Their short stories and movies give a glimpse of the Nicaragua that they experienced and the people that they meet. How well have you read their stories? How good is your knowledge of Nicaragua? If you speak Dutch test your knowledge in this crossword puzzle.

Actor from Nicaragua in his lone struggle for gay rights 

It is not easy being gay in a macho culture. In Nicaragua one can get up to two years of imprisonment for “a scandalous way to act, propagate or executing of homosexual actions”. Activist and actor Héctor Avellán (33) tries his best to change this with his Latino version of Brokeback Mountain.

The hall where the movie is shown is filled to the brim. The audience is a mixture of local youth, backpackers and of feminists who can’t be found in the Netherlands anymore (activist t-shirt, no bra). It is an exiting night; we get to see a movie about homosexuality. And that is no ordinary event in Nicaragua. On the contrary, according to the law 204 “the scandalous way to act, propagate or execute of homosexual actions” is illegal and can be penalized with up to 2 years of incarceration. And tonight we are all accomplices.

During their stay in Surinam, the World2xPress Xplorers had the oppertunity to bring a visit to the Backlot, the national television station StvS and they worked close toghether with 10 Minuten Jeugdjournaal.

After one week in and around Paramaribo, we left the capiltal city to get to know daily life in the inland of Surinam. It took us, by car, about four hours to get to Atjoni. At Atjoni we meet Ronny Linga and our journey continued along the Boven Surinam River. Wandering what and who were awaiting for us....

Imagine, you fall in love with a girl and she falls in love with you, but you live thousands of kilometers away from each other. What do you do then? Then you go to her dad and ask for his daughter’s hand. This I how Stef Biemans pictures his life for his new Villa Achterwerk tv program: “letters from Nicaragua”, where Dutch children send him questions about the country. In reality he took this decision to emigrated to Nicaragua for the love of his life Audrey after carefully weighing the pros and cons and traveling back and forth.

Six month contracts in television alternated by trips to Nicaragua. This was Stefs life for four years. Until he realized that is was much more logical to move to Nicaragua. “I had a car, rented a house, but still didn’t dare to throw my stuff into a container. There had to be something else.” Steff applied for a job as a photographer with the national newspaper La Prensa and was hired because he owned a digital camera.

Women's Radio

‘After Nicaragua the whole of Latin America!’ With this slogan the Dutch solidarity with Nicaragua was at its peak in the 70’s. Signs of this solidarity can still be found on the streets of Matagalpa, the most prominent being the women’s movement. Women still fight daily for the rights of the women and children. The suffragettes don’t just go out into the streets, they also spread their message over the radio. Women’s organization 'Collectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa' is the founder of ‘Radio Stereo Vos, where your voice is heard’. A look behind the scenes of 'Radio Stereo Vos' and 'Radio Alternativa'.

Xplore in Nicaragua

Four journalists spent a month in Nicaragua, a different country with a different language and a different culture. How will they cope in these new surroundings? Gerbrich, Hieke, Shantih and Tom captured their quest for special people with special stories in Nicaragua. 

Freshly arrived in Matagalpa we meet someone who will stick to us like glue for the rest of our stay: a guy called Marlon, whom we, due to his wild looks, soon dub Tarzan. Tarzan introduces himself as the prototype non-macho. ‘I am not like the other men around here'. He wants to get us acquainted with the native culture in all its aspects.

Tarzan has the ambition to become a guide and takes us along to his natural habitat.
Along a muddy path in the jungle we drop to lower grounds. Luckily Tarzan has prepared himself well. He has tied up his long dancing curls with a pink bandana. His muscular sweaty torso glistens in the sunlight. Below that he is wearing big, sturdy mountaineering shoes with white socks up to his knees.