Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 5pm Thu)
Once a week this has food, music and ballet
folklorico
at the Mercado
Artesanías; most Granada tour outfits offer this as a weekly add-on to their regular
Masaya trips.
La Virgen de la Asunción
( March 16)
Better known as the Virgin of the Burning Finger or the Festival of the
Cross; the town's top Virgin is taken to the lake for a blessing of the waters and a good
look at the slender protrusion of lava that threatened the town during the 1772 eruption,
until she stopped it.
RELIGIOUS
Jesús del Rescate
(
RELIGIOUS
April 3)
Scores of
carretas
(ox carts) begin their journey from Masaya to San Jorge.
San Lázaro
(
RELIGIOUS
week before Palm Sunday)
Includes a procession of costumed dogs.
Día de la Virgen de la Asunción
( August 15)
Everyone's favorite patron saint, María Magdelena, is hoisted atop the
shoulders of revelers for her annual tour of Monimbó; fireworks are involved.
RELIGIOUS
San Jerónimo
( September 30)
Officially it's eight days of festivities, but folks have stretched out Ni-
caragua's most famous festival to three months. The patron saint (in the guise of a bearded
campesino
named 'Tata Chombó,' or 'Doctor of the Poor') is taken from the Iglesia de
San Jerónimo altar and borne around Masaya while traditional dances are performed, in-
cluding Mozote y Verga, a mock battle that ends with peacemaking ceremonies to com-
memorate the September peace treaties of 1856, 1912 and 1979. Fireworks, marimbas,
parades, drag queens and more make this a fiesta to remember.
RELIGIOUS
CULTURAL
Noche de Agüizotes
(last Friday in October)
Not to be confused with Halloween or Day of the Dead, this spooky
festival features legends come to life and ghosts of the dead, plus the costumed living
parading through the streets.
El Toro Venado
CULTURAL
