ABOUT BLUEFIELDS

Bluefields is a pirate town on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Children play their games in the streets, shooting craps alongside the unemployed, who sing to staccato beats hammered out on buckets and doorposts, drinking rum in the sun. The town and its frequently robbed banks are no stranger to life on the outlands.

In 1610, the city's namesake, Dutch pirate Henry Bluefeldt found refuge in the area, repairing his fleet with the aid of the native Kukras. For the next century Bluefields would become a haven for Dutch and British pirates. By the 18th century, the British had cultivated steady trading through Bluefields, of bananas and Jamaican slaves.

When the area was taken over by the Spanish, the darker-skinned natives of Bluefields were neglected by and left out of the government. Though it had no real stakes in the revolution during the 1980's, much fighting between the Sandanistas and the American-funded Contras happened on Bluefields soil. Both sides would force M-16's on the native youth, giving them no choice but fight or die.

In 1988, Bluefields was devastated by Hurricane Joan, which left left the region in ruins. These days Bluefields has an unemployment rate of 90%, and its ports are a major throughway of the Columbian drug trade. The pirate roots of the city run deep, as does its reggae roots. Despite its poor conditions and poverty, Bluefields' culture remains tall and proud. The long era of Jamaican slave trading through the area fostered a deep connection to island music, making this frontier town the reggae mecca of Central America.