Author: Gioconda Belli
I had an opportunity to visit Nicaragua this year. I knew virtually nothing about the country except it was just north of my beloved Costa Rica. I went in search of a book that would give me some history and a sense of place. The universe (or the internet) blessed me by leading me to The Country Under My Skin by Gioconda Belli. I was forever changed.
Gioconda Belli is a real person who grew up in Nicaragua during it’s most turbulent years. She was from a wealthy family, but she identified with the plight of the people who were not as fortunate. This is a true story that follows her physical and emotional journey in the fight for Nicaraguan freedom from dictatorship and the brave role she played in it.
As with many books I have read as I’ve grown older, I learned much more about American history and our involvement in Nicaragua’s tumultuous past from this book than I ever did in a classroom. I was young during the Reagan administration, and I remember the word “contra” being on the nightly news. Now I know what they were talking about.
This book provides the perspective that only someone who lived in the country during the years of the Somoza regime can provide. You’ll feel the oppression, you’ll feel the fear, you’ll feel the anger and you’ll feel the triumph. But then, sadly, you’ll also see how power changes people and how history is doomed to repeat itself.
One of the things that I loved most about this book were the raw and intimate stories about love and the relationships Gioconda’s heart experienced as part of the journey. She was a smart, confident, educated and dynamic woman and she loved hard and often. She shares her most intimate stories about the powerful men she was involved with over the course of her life, including the joy and the heartbreak. I felt like her closest confidant and like I was losing a friend when the book ended.
As a companion to reading this book, check out the documentary “Las Sandinistas!” which tells the story of several women who were key in the effort to overthrow the Somoza regime. Gioconda is one of those women and is featured in the move. It’s available on Amazon Prime.
“Dare to change the word. There is nothing quixotic or romantic in wanting to change the world. It is possible. It is the age-old vocation of all humanity. I can’t think of a better life than one dedicated to passion, to dreams, to the stubbornness that defies chaos and disillusionment.”
― Gioconda Belli, The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War
Interested in Visiting Nicaragua?
I stayed at Jicaro Island on Lake Nicaragua. The lake has a fascinating history. Its geographic risk as a shortcut to the gulf of Mexico is a major reason the United States was involved in Nicaragua’s political history. The pictures above were taken from the island lodge and in Granada during my trip in August 2024. I wouldn’t recommend going in August due to heat and no air conditioning, but I was the only guest so it ended up being magical anyway.
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