EVENTS

Each town and city in Nicaragua has annual celebrations for its patron saint. These celebrations, known as Toro Guaco, include distinctive masked processions and mock battles involving folkloric figures satirizing the Spanish conquistadors. The most famous of these saints' days are held in honor of San Sebastian in January and Santiago in July.

The festival of Santo Domingo, Managua's patron saint, is held from August 1 to 10, and it features a carnival, a horse parade, cockfights and other sports. A procession with music and dancers takes the statue of the saint to its shrine at Sierritas de Managua, culminating in fireworks. Local holidays are observed on August 1 and 10. May Day (May 1), the Anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution (July 19), and Independence Day (September 15) are also celebrated in Managua.