Sébaco

Sébaco
Municipality
Flag of Sébaco Flag Seal
Country	Nicaragua
Department	Matagalpa
Government
• Mayor	Luis Martínez Medal
Area
• Municipality	112 sq mi (291 km2)
Population  (2012)
• Municipality	35,341
• Density	310/sq mi (120/km2)
• Urban	22,431

Sébaco is a municipality in the Matagalpa department of Nicaragua.

Situated at the junction of the Pan-American Highway and the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, Sébaco is the largest city of the agricultural Sébaco Valley, one of the most fertile areas in Nicaragua. From Sébaco, vegetable fields extend beyond the horizon when looking west. Five kilometres north of the city, a highway branches east from the Pan-American towards the city of Matagalpa.

King Charles I of Spain named the area "The Very Noble City of Sébaco" by decree. In 2006 the National Assembly of Nicaragua officially named the city Sébaco.

Geography

Sébaco is located in one of the largest and most fertile valleys of the Nicaraguan interior, approximately 103 kilometers from the capital, Managua. Its territory is crossed by two major rivers: the Old River, which runs north to south through the center of Sébaco Valley, and is a source of hydroelectric power; and the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, which runs from the east to the South West. These two rivers provide irrigation for the vegetables and grain produced in the valley. The largest underground lake in the world is situated underneath this valley. According to legend, the lake formed when a volcano to the south was going to explode, but a priest, guided by his faith, planted a cross on top of the mountain and the volcano subsided. Current studies show the hill contains plentiful amounts of water which travel from the slopes and form springs miles away from the river.

Education

Today there are many schools in and around the municipality, including preschools, kindergartens, and elementary schools. Secondary and higher education include: Ruben Baltodano Light Baptist School of Truth and Life (ACIBEN), Ruben Dario Secondary Care, Colegio San Luis Gonzaga, Lily of the Valley, Eddy Alonso Institute (INEA)), and the National University College of North (UNN).

Tourism

Sébaco is a retreat for people who want to shop in malls and shops around the Pan America. Sébaco has museums that offer exhibits in pre-Columbian art as well as art from the colonial period and places of great natural beauty.

Etymology

The name Sébaco originates from the Nahuatl language verbs "Coatl Cihuatl", which means "snake woman". Coatl Cihuatl was the Nahuatl's goddess of fertility and agriculture. When the Spanish came to these lands, they were unable to pronounce the original name of this town. Ciguaco said that over time has turned to the name, Sébaco.

History

Previously, Sébaco was an important ceremonial center of the Coatl Cihuatl goddess, goddess of agriculture and fertility. It was also the head of the important Chiefdom Cihuatl Coatl or Chontales, comprising part of the current departments of Nueva Segovia, Madriz, Esteli, Matagalpa, Jinotega, Boaco, Chontales and Rio San Juan. Its center was located on the banks of Old River at a place now known as La Perla, where Sébaco was discovered by the Spanish Gabriel Rojas de Córdoba in 1525, while looking for the outlet of Lake Managua. Sébaco was quickly established as the center of all military operations of conquest and evangelization of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. It is based on the old town of Santiago Cihuatl Coatl, head of the village of Chontales until eighteenth century. A massive flood of people made the move in 1833 to a rocky hill southeast of the original aciento, where they founded the New Sébaco of the Assumption, known today as old or Sébaco Sébaco above. With the construction of the Pan American Highway in the fifties, the low population began to build down the area which was originally Quarter San Geronimo or the cooler, where it extended over the years for much of the valley.

One of the highest in population is northern Nicaragua. It is one of the largest producers of rice, beans and onions in Central America.

In Sébaco, an indigenous community was granted the royal title King of Spain in the eighteenth century. A day is chosen each year for the president of the Indigenous Community. This indigenous community owns land comprising the municipality of San Isidro, the Sébaco and part of Darius. Among demonstrating their culture and history are the totems in the Catholic Church Sébaco and streams recorded on the village of Chaguitillo, besides the presence of pottery in different parts of the valley.

External links

• Guide on Sébaco