Origins, genesis and History of the Nicaraguan Spanish Schools

By Raúl Gavarrette
Consultant for Nicaragua Spanish Lessons
http://www.nicaragua-spanish-lessons.com

April 2011

The first Spanish language schools in Nicaragua dates back to the 80´s during the revolution. That
pioneer language school named Escuela NICA was founded in 1983 in downtown Estelí and was
operated by a female American resident, Beverly Truman who was concerned of the necessity of a
language center to instruct the romantic American volunteers who fell in love of the Sandinista
revolution and came to Nicaragua to participate in coffee picking, in school building and many
other projects. Egdelina Lanuza, a very active woman involved in social service and well known in
Estelí, was chosen to be the first Spanish teacher of that first private social initiative which focused
on teaching non Spanish speakers people from around the world not only Spanish but Nicaraguan
culture, and the ideals of the revolutionary Sandinista government.

On the other hand by the same time the revolutionary government organized its own linguistic
project to train all the non Spanish speaker internationalists working in different projects in
governmental institutions and ministries. That Spanish school was called Casa del Español and
was located in the Plaza España nearby area in Managua. In the late eighties another similar
program was opened at the Central American University (UCA) managed by the Language
Department.

After the victory of the Violeta Chamorro government in 1990, Beverly Truman left Estelí and went
back to the United States and the school Escuela NICA closed. Egdelina continued teaching private
Spanish lessons for some months and then started the new school Horizonte Spanish School-NICA
in 1991 as alternative employment for local women, involving the students in small community
projects and connecting them with local organizations. The present Escuela Horizonte-NICA
managed and operated by Egdelina Lanuza has continued through the years giving its students the
best of the experience gained from that first historic Spanish school in Nicaragua.

The Sandinista election loss in 1990 brought also the closing of the Spanish language program at
Casa del Español. Two former Spanish teachers, Ruth Jarquín and Ileana Tiffer founded then a new
Spanish school called Centro Linguístico Cultural Tenotzaní in Managua almost at the same
time Horizonte Spanish School opened.

At the end of 1992 the Escuela de Español Laguna de Apoyo – later in 1995 renamed Escuela
de Español Proyecto Ecológico Laguna de Apoyo- started operations. Owned by the McKaye
family, Beverly McKaye a South African artist became its first Director. The McKaye family arrived
in Nicaragua for job purposes and scientist searches in early 1992 and having plans for living in the
country, started searching for a Spanish school to learn the language as they did not have the
command of the Spanish.

Frustrated of not founding any school in the area and urged to learn how to speak Spanish they
went to Guatemala to take an intensive course in a very popular known school. When they
returned to Nicaragua, they were very enthusiastic about the idea of opening a Spanish School in
Laguna de Apoyo and right after they started preparation for that interesting project. Bismarck
Calero, Cándida López and Lorenzo López who already worked for the McKaye’s in many different
jobs, were then trained by Guatemalan experienced Spanish teachers brought by the family to
make them become the first three Spanish teachers in the Escuela de Español Laguna de Apoyo. In
1995 more teachers joined among them Raúl Gavarrette who together with Bismarck, Lorenzo and
Beverly worked as a good team to make the school a successful project.

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The first Spanish school in Granada was Casa Xalteva which was founded in 1995 by Ken
Carpenter and Gregory Calvert. Ken and Gregory arrived in Granada in the early 90’s and were
fond of the city since then. They moved to this colonial city. They were motivated by seeing all the
street kids in the city and decided to start the language school as a humanitarian project to use
income generated by Casa Xalteva to try putting those kids back into the school system. Greg and
Ken trained the first candidates as instructors. The project became successful and the school
established itself as the first formal Spanish school in Granada.

Another Spanish language center that opened in Granada in 1995 was One-on-One Tutoring
operated by Róger Ramírez who specialized in teaching Spanish one-on-one. This language school
has become very popular and gained reputation among backpackers and university students.

In early 1997, a new Project called Nicaragua Spanish Schools (NSS) was started in Nicaragua
by Paul Martin from the United States and Raúl Gavarrette, the Nicaraguan representative and
Executive Coordinator. Since the beginning NSS intended to be an international agency to
represent and market the just established Nicaraguan Spanish schools in Estelí, Managua, Granada
and Laguna de Apoyo. Due to many facts it was unsuccessfully and later on, the NSS team
changed the strategy and decided to open their own Spanish schools in San Juan del Sur, Granada
and León. That is when they started the first school in lovely San Juan del Sur in middle 1997.

The school was named San Juan del Sur Spanish School and its first Director was María Dolores
Silva, a certified and experienced high school Spanish teacher from San Juan. That school was
located in the Escuela Integral de Cultura just facing the pretty harbor. The former instructors were
Carmen Victor, Carmen Rizo, Rosa Silva and Marta Calderón. Continuous training workshops in
administrative details, excursions organization and Spanish as second language teaching
techniques were held by NSS Executive team to prepare the new school staff for the first students’
group arrival in January 1998.

In the same year 1998, the NSS team worked on organizing and opening the Palacio de Cultura
Spanish School in Granada as there were plans to receive the first large group of high school
students from the United States. Sandra Espinoza Madrigal, a prominent member of the Asociación
de Promotores de Cultura (APC) in Granada was chosen by NSS team as the first and long lasting
Director. The former instructors at the Palacio de Cultura Spanish School in Granada were
María Haydee Méndez, Margarita Karam, Silvia Madrigal, María Adilia Espinoza and Karla Pérez.
Darling González, Nubia Calero and María Elena Rodríguez were visitor instructors. Sandra
Espinoza, the former Director was urgently trained by the NSS Executive team, in organizing
excursions and in administrative details to manage the new language school. Weekly workshops in
techniques for teaching Spanish as second language were organized by NSS Executive team for the
new language instructors at the school. Bismarck Calero, María Elena Rodríguez and Raúl
Gavarrette the Executive Coordinator and Representative of NSS were the teacher trainers in
Granada and San Juan del Sur Spanish Schools to prepare the instructors to receive the first group
arrival in early 1998.

In early 1999 NSS executive and international team decided to open a new Spanish school in León.
That school was named Leonesa Spanish School. The following years after foundation, were
successful for all the Nicaragua Spanish Schools net. At the end of that year Raul Gavarrette the
Executive Director left the NSS and he was immediately recruited by a Costa Rican prominent
Spanish program and started working with them in both countries Costa Rica and Nicaragua. After
many years of being the strongest language program in Nicaragua NSS disbanded in 2006 due to
many intern conflicts with their massive instructors who wanted somehow independence and
wanted to start their own business in the Spanish school new industry. That was the origin of all
the spinoff schools in Granada, Leon and San Juan del Sur. The first spinoff Spanish school was
Playas del Sur in San Juan del Sur, then Cocibolca Spanish School in Granada; Leon Spanish
School of Nicaragua LSSN in León. Other Spanish schools later appeared in San Juan del Sur such
as Escuela Nicaraguita (2006) managed by former Director of San Juan del Sur Spanish school
María Dolores Silva. Escuela Nicaraguita closed in 2007; new San Juan del Sur Spanish School
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opened managed by Verónica one of the Spanish instructors at the former NSS school, Casa
Escuela Rosa Silva and Ruben Dario Spanish School also opened in 2006.That same year more
Spanish schools opened in Granada among them Ave Nicaraguita, Nicaragua Spanish Lessons
opened back in 2004 also published its web site in middle 2006, this school was not originated
from former NSS. In following years other Spanish schools were founded in San Juan del Sur
caused by the boom: Big Foot Spanish School in Tola (2007), the Spanish corner (2007), Spanish
Ya School (2008), and Latin American Spanish School (2008). Cocibolca Spanish School disbanded
in 2007 due also to intern conflicts between its instructors and originated two new Spanish schools:
Spanish School Express and Nicaragua Mía Spanish School both located in Granada city. That same
year 2007 other Spanish schools emerged in Leon by the same reasons such as Dariana Spanish
School, Metropolitana Spanish School. Almost everywhere in San Juan del Sur, Granada, León,
Estelí the same phenomenon occurred and new Spanish schools emerged. APC´s Spanish Schools
managed by the Asociación de Promotores de Cultura also opened branches in León, Granada, San
Juan del Sur.

In 2008 other independent Spanish schools also opened among them Nicaragua Spanish Institute
(NicaSpan) in Masaya, La Mariposa Spanish school in Ticuantepe, Hijos del Maíz Spanish school in
El Lagartillo rural community in Achuapa, León.

In 2009 the Spanish school in Laguna de Apoyo managed lately by Jeffrey McCrary got apart from
its former financial partner and founder Dr. McKaye, and continued the programs by themselves in
another location right next to the former Spanish school. McKaye family has returned to Nicaragua
this year 2011 and has just opened the school again under a new name Laguna de Apoyo Spanish
School and Cultural Center. This new school is now managed by enthusiastic and dynamic Donaldo
Silva former Spanish teacher in Apoyo School. Former Nicaragua Spanish Schools led by Paul
Martin has reopened programs in Managua early 2011.

Other Spanish schools organized in Estelí and Managua in previous years: Spanish language
program in UCA 1985; 1991 Centro Linguistico Cultural Tenotzaní managed by Ruth Jarquín and
Ileana Tiffer who were former Spanish teacher in Casa del Español in the 80´s. This school closed
in the year 2000. CENAC (Centro Nicaragüense de Aprendizaje) 1997, Los Pipitos Sacuanjoche
1997.

Recent schools: Escuela Viva in Managua 2007, Mi Futuro Spanish School 2007 in Carazo, Spanish
school Casa Escuela Rosa Silva in Ometepe Island 2009, Sol Spanish School in Granada whose
Director is former NSS Sandra Espinoza Madrigal 2010; Spanish Lingua in Granada 2010.

So far the new tendency among the Spanish schools industry in Nicaragua is to get together and
they have been establishing an alliance policy among Spanish schools under the concept of Schools
partnership to offer multiple destinations. At least this a good sign of understanding and respect of
their Directors who know that everyone has the right to open their own business keeping ethic,
respect, professionalism and quality. Success for all the Spanish schools in Nicaragua!

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