Guanuca

Henry Miller had his grubby Paris neighborhood Montparnasse, I have my Guanuca. It’s where things get done in the city I live in, Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The Pogues, “Dirty Old Town”. A Whitmanesque workingman’s wonderland - it is large and contains multitudes.

The neighborhood is the dirty, bustling, super cheap part of town where everyone from the “bush”, the mountain villages outside the city, come to sell their wares and make some bucks. Guanuca is in sharp contrast to the downtown with its nice storefronts and organized streets. I love it - it makes the city sparkle with energy.

These shows all near you by day and night—work-
men! whoever you are, your daily life!

In that and them the heft of the heaviest—in them
far more than you estimated, and far less also;

In them realities for you and me—in them poems for
you and me;

In them, not yourself—you and your Soul enclose all
things, regardless of estimation;

In them the development good—in them, all themes
and hints.

You can get anything in Guanuca! I’m leaving Nicaragua soon and Guanuca is just down the mountain from where I live, so I decided to do a walkabout and take some photos to share. Comments below the photos. View the full album here.

Guanuca is basically, organized chaos. Reminds me of India. You got to watch it or you’ll get his by something.

Lots of vendors of all sorts. Get some fruit in a bag and you are set for lunch.

Here, just dump your second-hand bundle from America you bought and charge 50 cents for anything others find! No store and rent needed.

My barbershop. $1.25 a cut. Professional. Lively, music filled place.

Need a pot? A barrel? I bought my BBQ here for $10. Wheelrim with welded steel wheels.

Cross the river Rio Grande and you enter Guanuca. The river can rage and get very high, over the bridge when it rains in the mountains.

I often stop at Chino’s - as seedy a bar as they get. Brutal moonshine.

Guanuca central you’ll find the mattress guys. $10 and you have a bed.

The main drag through Guanuca

The busiest place in town. Bar Morazan. Guys from the hinterland, and mountain land come and sell their wares and then get some lady action. Morning or night.

Everyday Effluent

Piss, shit, sweat, toe jam
Dead skin, dead hair, dead heads
Bad breath, sperm, nail clippings
Snot, mucous, earwax, phlegm
Puke, puss, blood, placenta
Tears, spit, saliva, sound, words, thought

It’s surprising how alive
we are
given all the dead stuff
we send out.