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Somoto is a city and municipality located in the hills of northern Nicaragua, and capital of the department of Madriz. It is around 20 km (12 miles) south-west of Ocotal and 51 km (32 miles) north-west of Estelí. It sits on the Pan-American Highway around 16 km (10 miles) from the Honduran border crossing at El Espino. Founded in pre-Hispanic times by Olmec and Aztec immigrants from modern Mexico, Somoto is the economic and cultural heart of Madriz. It has also become a growing tourist centre since the discovery of Somoto Canyon, located 13 km (8 miles) west of the city. Somoto has a total population of approximately 40,000, with 15,000 people living in the urban area and 25,000 in 48 nearby communities.〔City of Merced,(Merced-Somoto History )〕 It is known as ''La Flor de Henequén'' (the Flower of Henequen) as a result of the cultivation of this crop in the city's environs. It is also renowned for its production of ''rosquillas somoteñas'', crispy corn biscuits with a variety of flavours.〔Via Nica, (History of Somoto Rosquillas )〕 ==History== Somoto was settled by Olmec and Aztec peoples from Mexico, and subsequently inhabited by Chorotegas and Nicaraguas. The name Somoto originates from the Nahuatl ''Tépecxomotl'', meaning 'Valley of Geese', while Spanish royal decrees of 1591 give the city's name as Santiago de Tepesomoto. Although the city is now universally known as Somoto, the name ''Tepesomoto'' is retained by the volcano overlooking the city to the south and its surrounding Tepesomoto-La Patasta Nature Reserve.〔Alcaldía de Somoto, (History )〕 Somoto was granted town status in January 1867 and city status in March 1895. It has been the capital city of Madriz since that department's separation from Nueva Segovia in November 1936.〔Alcaldía de Somoto, (History )〕 Somoto's adobe parrochial church, formally the Temple of Saint James the Apostle (''Templo Santiago Apostól''), was established in the heart of Somoto in 1661 opposite the city's ''parque central'' (central park); it is therefore one of Nicaragua's oldest surviving church buildings, pre-dating the Cathedral of León by 86 years. However the present façade and bell tower were constructed as recently as 1875.〔(Parroquia Santiago de Somoto )〕 Somoto is also located near the Cacaulí Sanctuary, a site for religious pilgrimage since a boy claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary while collecting firewood in 1990.〔Via Nica, (Cacaulí Sanctuary )〕 The famous Nicaraguan singer-songwriters and brothers Carlos Mejía Godoy and Luís Enrique Mejía Godoy were born in Somoto, as was their nephew Luis Enrique.〔Biografías y Vidas,(Carlos Mejía Godoy )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Somoto, Madriz」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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