The Coyotepe of Nicaragua, before Fortress, Today Scout School.

This article Nicole Chavarria of the New Journal of Nicaragua shows history of a fortress that served as a prison and revolutionary interest, is now a museum and school-Scout partnership Nicaragua.

Many stories keep the cold and dark cells of this place, episodes that marked the political life of Nicaragua. This monumental site remains faithful com or witness but now are young scouts and tourists who visit to learn what those facts which make it an icon of the country.

In the 28 kilometer and a half of the road that connects with the department of Managua, Masaya, stands the imposing historic fort of El Coyotepe, scene during 115 years of military battles, at least two revolutions-the first against the Somocista dictatorship and the second against the Sandinista regime-and several scouts camps.

In fact, the Scout Association of Nicaragua is currently responsible for the stewardship of the strength and which serves domestic and foreign tourists who wish to know the history of this monumental site.
La verdadera fortaleza The real strength

The Coyotepe, named for being located in the Los Coyotes hill, so called because some time ago he abounded in the dens of coyotes. Built in 1893 during the presidential term of José Santos Zelaya, when the country Aguerre involved in a struggle between liberals and conservatives by partisan interests.

The historic role of the hill Coyotepe in Masaya, began 37 years before the fortress was built during the fight against filibusters Americans commanded by William Walker, in the year 1856, during the war that came to national expel the U.S. occupation of Nicaragua .

According to Alfredo Gallegos, manager of The Coyotepe the field school and scout in 1893 is built the fortress to protect the city of Masaya during the civil wars of the era.

Gallegos mentioned that among the most prominent struggles is that of October 4, 1912, when Colonel Isidoro Diaz Flores took over the hill of El Coyotepe, by orders of General Zeledon, to stop from that position, a train with military Reinforcements of the Marines who went towards the city of Masaya.

Historically, this strength was a strategic point for military domination and that since there was controlled over rail travelling from Grenada to Corinth, in addition to the passage of convoys.

The prison and torture
The Coyotepe However it was not always the illustrious fortress that served many Nicaraguans to defend national sovereignty, since according to Rene Oviedo, tourist guide of the fortress "the bottom (basement) was made by Somoza in 1936 and began used as a jail exclusively for political prisoners in 1954. "

According to Oviedo, in the correctional facility were as prisoners Diego Manuel Chamorro and Frixione Francisco Saravia, two characters representing the Nicaraguan politics of that era.

Undoubtedly the walls of El Coyotepe they appeal to history, even more so if one takes into account that this place is practiced some of the worst psychological torture at the time.

"It's logical to think that prisoners suffered physical torture by the Somocista guard, as extract fingernails with pliers, lit cigarettes put out on your skin or beaten with rifle butts, but what were the worst psychological torture that they applied" , Oviedo recounts.


But not only in time of Somoza's strength was used as a prison, because in 1979, the year the triumph of the revolution, the Sandinistas were taken and released about 800 prisoners and imprison those who were in power.

The strength is no longer prison in 1983 when delivered facilities to the association Child Sandinistas, NSA.
The imposing fortress consists of four watchtowers, from where it had a strategic view of the hill and the city of Masaya. In the center is what once were the offices where officials Somocista kept records of all prisoners who were there. It is known that these records were burned by the officers and guards Somoza when guerrillas of the Sandinista Front took the fortress.

The first level, where the most enlightened and ventilated cells, consists of 23 rooms with capacity for 400 prisoners. In the second, where they were presumed captives who had useful information to guard Somocista, up 16 cells with a capacity of 200 prisoners.

This is the second level is where Alfredo Gallegos mind that the cell was 5, better known as solitary confinement and that was the most isolated, dark and wet throughout the fortress.

So far it is known that in Coyotepe were only men as prisoners of the Sandinista guerrillas, however se cree that at some point could have been brought women of the Frente Sandinista guerrilla, which could suffer rape and torture to obtain information that would enable him Guard forces defeat the insurgents.

Gallegos said that in the southern part of the fortress had a passage for emergency escape, could also be a quarter of ammunition or a place to pull corpses. What we do know is that the entrance to this place was sealed for reasons unknown.

The Scout Coyotepe
The president of Nicaragua, Rene Schick, April 5, 1965 gave the fortress "The Coyotepe" to scout for Nicaragua, turning them into their rightful owners and to train young people with fixed values and goals.

But the scouts lost their strength for many years, until during the government of President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, the facilities are returned.

L Scouts today are responsible for managing and overseeing the maintenance of this historic place. He has many plans for this place, including the creation of a museum of peace, a children's museum, as well as painting and repairing some parts of the already damaged structure.

The site is available to the public Monday through Sunday, from nine o'clock to five o'clock in the afternoon. The general admission is worth 10 cordobas per person and has the service of tourist guides that show the facilities and if they wish remind some of the stories of the fortress.

Subject of award
The research conducted El Nuevo Diario on this historic place, leading to know that Fortress The Coyotepe made the Uruguayan Flavio Morante Martin Rodriguez won the Latin Union Prize for photography with the 2007 series "The lights of Coyotepe.

Rodriguez said that if there is anything that has not changed despite the years in Coyotepe is "light serving as telling the full story of the monument using certain glare on fairly monochromatic surfaces. The walls derived signals and prospects released architectures coercive (…) Dominates and drives his way to the subject of a rehabilitation property. "

Source: http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/especiales/18519