an open letter to jinotega

Jinotega:
I am grateful for the diversity you offer. Homogeneity is sometimes mundane, other times a stimulus for prejudice, many times a fact of life in Nicaragua. To clarify, i am not saying all Nicaraguans looks the same, because they dont, far from it; I am speaking of homogeneity in the sense of everyone looking similar from the back of their head (and I realize that statement may have convoluted as opposed to clarified). When I sat on buses in Masaya, I was witness to a sea of brown-black hair, framing faces with sharp features, sitting atop of miniature bodies, in similar dress, all at the same height. But Jinotega, you wouldn’t settle for such a monotony of gente. Your mountains, proximity to Honduras, cooler climate, (and american involvement with contra fighters, though i couldnt provide concrete evidence) have allowed diversity to flourish. Though quite startling at first, the site of Nicaraguan gingers (and they are the gingery-est gingers I have ever seen, even though they have pigment in their skin) is a pleasant change. There are short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people, different shades of brown hair (!!!), green eyes, brown eyes, light skin, dark skin. None is better or worse. It’s an exquisite mosaic of humanity. I found Boston’s lack of diversity insufferable…well, fully uninteresting to say the least. So I left. To come to a Latin American country where I really couldn’t have hoped for a change. So I thank you, Jinotega, for being a visual delight.
Faithfully Yours,
Daina