Managua, 1966

When Mae Garner left In Between, Louisiana to marry a doctor and move to Managua, Nicaragua, everyone thought she had gone wild. Her letters home, with brightly colored stamps bearing the seal of a foreign country, brought with them an air of excitement that couldn’t help but stir the terracotta dust of her hometown. A small trinket always accompanied her letters – a miniature pinata to fit over a pencil eraser, a peasant doll formed out of banana leaves, or a simple kitchen towel, bearing the name Managua in pale blue stitching and surrounded by tropical fruit.

Excerpted from Managua, 1966 by Rachel Dangermond Copyright ©1998 by Rachel Dangermond