MUSEUMS

Nowhere else in Central America will you find such an eclectic assortment of museums than in León. Covering the political, natural, and all things cultural, they’re sure to intrigue.

  La Casa de Cultura is a must-see while in León. It is an old colonial home complete with swimming pool, and home to a collection of artwork that includes a disparaging painting of Ronald Reagan and Henry Kissinger. Light lunches and snacks are available. Or try your hand at chess against León’s local club (open 8 a.m.–noon and 1:30–6 p.m. Mon.–Fri., and the occasional Sat. and Sun., tel. 505/311-2116).

  Inside a 200-year-old building across from the Parque Rubén Darío, the Museo Alfonso Cortéz houses many of the personal belongings of Nicaragua’s beloved metaphysical poet, including some of his poems as originally written in the margins of newspapers. It’s generally open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday; donations accepted.

  Of Nicaragua’s estimated 250,000 insect species, only 1 percent have been labeled or studied; that’s still a lot of bugs remaining. The Museo Entomológico (tel. 505/311-6586, jmmaes@ibw.com.ni) is related to the UNAN and houses the best collection of national insect life in the country. The museum is generally not open to the public, but if you’ve got some kind of insect credentials, special visits can be arranged.

  La Casa de Rubén Darío (tel. 505/311-2388) is a glimpse into León in the 19th century. Nicaragua’s favorite son lived here with the aunt and uncle who raised him until the age of 14. Fellow poet Alfonso Cortéz later inhabited the same house at a time when he went insane (the room he inhabited still has the iron bars he bent in an effort to escape his confinement). Darío’s bed and the rest of the furnishings of the museum are typical of middle-class León in the late 19th century, as is the building itself, built from adobe with a clay-tile and cane roof. On display are original copies of his most famous works translated into several languages and copies of a magazine he published in Paris. The silver crucifix given him by Mexican poet Amado Nervos, correspondence from when Darío was the consul to Argentina and ambassador to Spain, and period coins and currency are also displayed; open 8 a.m.–noon and 2–5 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–noon Sunday; donations of $1–2 are accepted for the upkeep of the building.

  A block west of the Parque Casa de Rubén Darío, the Centro de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Gurdián, taking up two buildings on opposite sides of the street, is said to have the best collection of international artwork in Nicaragua, with an emphasis on images of colonial America (open 11:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Tue.–Sun.).

  El Museo de Tradiciones y Leyendas (in Barrio Laborío, open 8 a.m.–noon, 2–5 p.m. daily, admission $.50) is the result of one strong-willed woman’s wish to maintain Nicaragua’s precious legends for the generations that followed her. Inside are figures she sewed herself, representing Nicaragua’s favorite folk tales: the golden crab, La Carreta Nagua, the pig-witch, and La Mocuana. Equally interesting is the building itself, the former XXI jail and base of the 12th Company of Somoza’s National Guard.

  Built in 1921, the XXI saw nearly 60 years of brutal torture. The mango tree that now shades this museum was planted by a prisoner and watered from the same well that was used for electric shock and head-dunking sessions. There is a solemn photograph collection of young, Sandinista heroes and martyrs at La Galería, 1.5 blocks west of the central park. Unfortunately, León’s most famous grassroots tribute to the revolution, Luís Manuel Toruño’s Museo Insurreccional, was shut down after several decades of displaying his fascinating collection of clutter from one of the most important historical events of the century. Ask around just in case the charismatic, toe-ringed cobbler springs up somewhere else.