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Twelfth Gastronomic Sea Festival

ViaNica.com | Apr 24, 2008

Further Reading

The Gastronomic Sea Festival, an annual tradition from Corinto, in the department of Chinandega, will be celebrated in the weekend of April 26 and 27. The festival will consist of the exhibition and sale of more than 100 different seafood platters.

The road between the Central Park (in front of the church) and the Palacio de la Cultura, which is where the Nicaraguan gastronomic wealth will be shown, will simultaneously host a cultural event, with performances by several invited groups and artists, including the Ballet Folklórico from San Marcos, the “Chicas Latinas” from Managua, el Ballet “Nueva Compañía” from León, and talent from Corinto such as the Ballet Folklórico from El Cardón and the salsa singer René Oliver Santamaría, winner of the O.T.I. festival, amongst others.

During the two days, visitors can enjoy both traditional Nicaraguan delights, as well as international classics, from dusk till dawn. A small selection of the served meals include seashell cake, rice with fish, ceviche, cocktails, conches, fish salmagundi (Urel), and even Valencian paella. “Because it’s a festival, the platters will be much more accessibly priced than they are in restaurants” said Soraya Dubón, the person in charge at the Cultural Municipal Department in Corinto.

Just like at the first edition in 1996, which took on the form of a small kermes, making use of the celebration of the Fiestas de la Cruz and its visitors, proceeds will go to the maintenance of the elderly home Santa Eduviges and to social activities organized by the church parish, as explained by Felix Ruíz Lezcano, president of the Patronato del Hogar de Ancianos.

Nowadays, this refuge houses 40 elderly people, but it doesn’t receive any financial support from the government, which is why the Gastronomic Festival is one of its main sources of funding.

Currently, the organizing committee, through their cooperation with the Casa Cural de la Parroquia de Santo Tomás, is joined by the municipality, the church, various civil society actors, private companies, and institutions such as INTUR (the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute), which is helping out with the logistics of the cultural activities that are taking place, according to Karla Ruíz, assistant of the department delegate from Chinandega.

This year, with its twelfth edition, the “Feria Gastronómica del Mar” will be declared part of the national tourism calendar, after having been recognized by INTUR as an important event promoting tourist development in Corinto. The hope is that this recognition will help strengthen the support going to these activities, to turn it into an important festival of international scale.