Estelí

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title: "Estelí" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["estelí", "municipalities-of-the-estelí-department"] topic_path: "general/esteli" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelí" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameEstelí
other_nameVilla de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí
settlement_typeMunicipality
image_skylineEsteli Nicaragua Skyline from Tisey.jpg
image_captionPanoramic view of the City of Estelí
image_flagFlag of Esteli.svg
image_sealSeal of Esteli.svg
nickname" Diamante de la Segovia" ("The Diamond of the Segovia
motto"Estelí, amante del presente, forjador del futuro" ("Estelí, lover of the present, builder of the future")
mapsize150px
pushpin_mapNicaragua#North America
pushpin_mapsize250
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameNicaragua
subdivision_type1Department
subdivision_name1Estelí Department
established_titleFoundation
established_date1685
leader_titleMayor
leader_nameFrancisco Ramón Valenzuela Blandón
leader_title1Vice Mayor
leader_name1Rosa Argentina Rugama Flores
area_total_km2796
elevation_m843.97
population_total131179
population_as_of2022 estimate
population_density_km2auto
population_urban111244 (8th Nicaragua)
population_footnotes
website
utc_offset-6
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoAw
::

|name = Estelí |other_name = Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí |settlement_type = Municipality |image_skyline =Esteli Nicaragua Skyline from Tisey.jpg |image_caption = Panoramic view of the City of Estelí |image_flag = Flag of Esteli.svg |image_seal = Seal of Esteli.svg |nickname = " Diamante de la Segovia" ("The Diamond of the Segovia ") name created by Oscar Corea Molina in his radio show "Trampolin 43" | motto = "Estelí, amante del presente, forjador del futuro" ("Estelí, lover of the present, builder of the future") |image_map = |mapsize = 150px |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Nicaragua#North America |pushpin_mapsize = 250 |coordinates = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Nicaragua |subdivision_type1 = Department |subdivision_name1 = Estelí Department |established_title = Foundation |established_date = 1685 |leader_title = Mayor |leader_name = Francisco Ramón Valenzuela Blandón |leader_title1 = Vice Mayor |leader_name1 = Rosa Argentina Rugama Flores |area_magnitude = |area_total_km2 = 796 |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_km2 = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_km2 = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |elevation_m = 843.97 |elevation_ft = |population_total = 131179 |population_as_of = 2022 estimate |population_density_km2 = auto |population_density_sq_mi = |population_urban = 111244 (8th Nicaragua) |population_metro = |population_footnotes = |website =
|timezone = |utc_offset = -6 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |blank_name = Climate |blank_info = Aw

Estelí (), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the 8th largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its municipality, at 84.8%, with an urban population of 111,244 (2022 estimate). It is also the eighth-largest municipality, and an active commercial center in the north, known as "the Diamond of the Segovia" (this name being created by Oscar Corea Molina in his radio show "Trampolin 43”) and the de facto capital of the north.

Estelí is on the Pan-American Highway, 150 km north of Managua. It enjoys a temperate climate most of the year due to its location in the north central highlands at a mean elevation of 844 m (2769 ft) above sea level. The city is also surrounded by forested mountains of pines, oaks, and walnuts, and plateaus up to 1600 m above sea level, some of which are protected as natural reserves.

History

The first settlement of what would become the City of Estelí occurred in Villa Vieja in 1685. It was founded by a group of Spaniards fleeing Nueva Segovia which at that time suffered from pirate attacks. Villa Vieja was then replaced by a new settlement (San Antonio de Pavia) from where the city of Estelí has grown. Today there is evidence of the first church in the Villa Vieja sector of the city.

The town is described in 1858 as "a little town in a small plain through which winds the river of the same name..." It is described as having a grist-mill and that "the country produces considerable wheat of medium quality." Estelí was described in 1920 as having 8,000 inhabitants and as being a rich and growing center.

Estelí was the scene of heavy fighting in the civil war against the Somoza government from 1978 to 1979. The city was heavily air-bombed by the regime's National Guard and burnt by the FSLN guerrillas, which reduced many of the city's buildings to rubble. The human casualties were around 15,000; many of them were youths massacred on suspicion of being part of the insurrection due to the infiltration of anti-government guerillas from the Pacific of Nicaragua whom used the city as a war theater. Estelí rebuilt all but some structures, such as the Teatro Montenegro and the Government Palace, and a few may still show bullet holes.

Economy and tourism

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/MulticentroEsteli.jpg" caption="A shopping center in Estelí"] ::

The land around Estelí has a suitable climate for growing tobacco for use in cigars, and the town became a refuge for Cuban cigar makers after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Estelí is one of the most important cigar-producing cities in the world. Estelí also has many language schools. Restaurants and hotels cater to tourists traveling to nearby natural reserves and other parts of the region. Natural Reserves around the area include Miraflor, Tisey-Estanzuela, Las Brisas-Quiabuc, Tomabú, Tepesomoto, and Moropotente.

According to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation's Municipal Scorecard 2008, which complements the annual Doing Business report, the municipality of Estelí ranks 1st and 2nd, out of 143 municipalities in ten Latin American countries, in quality and efficiency to obtain a construction permit and municipal operating license respectively. Estelí has improved its performance from the Municipal Scorecard 2007, where it ranked 5th out of 65 municipalities in five countries.

Infrastructure

Estelí has near-full population coverage with its water-supply system. It also has extensive sewage disposal coverage.

At least three airfields have been built in Estelí throughout history, although none exists today. One of the first airfields documented played the role of alternate airport from 1930 to 1934 when TACA established the service to carry passengers with an El Salvador-Tegucigalpa-Danli-Ocotal-Estelí-Managua route. La Thompson, which is three miles north of Estelí, is where the second airstrip was built and used by a company named "Thonsson Corwell" to help complete a stretch of the Pan-American Highway. The third airfield was built in the north end of town in the 1980s but has now been urbanized.

In 1940 efforts were made to expand Nicaragua's railroad from El Sauce to the north via Estelí. Thirteen kilometers of rail, the town of Río Grande, and a railroad bridge were built with the intention of taking the rail up to Estelí along the Aquespalapa or Villanueva river, which originates in the Quiabuc mountains; however, the project was abandoned. In 1950 there was a proposal to create a railroad branch from Estelí to Matagalpa which would eventually connect the city to other parts of the country including Prinzapolka Port in the Caribbean and Managua.

Sports

Estelí is home to one of the most popular football clubs in the country, the Real Estelí, nicknamed "El Tren del Norte" ("The Train of the North"). They play their home games at the Estadio Independencia, a name created by Oscar Corea Molina. Real Estelí Baloncesto plays in the Basketball Champions League Americas.

It is also home to a professional baseball team, Estelí, which makes it one of only three cities in the country with both a professional football (soccer) and baseball team. During the 1970s, Estelí participated in the "Roberto Clemente" baseball tournament and had one of the best baseball teams in the country with the help of one-time big league players like Porfi Altamirano and Albert Williams.

Estelí also has a professional cycling team called Real Estelí Ciclismo, which is member of the Cycling Federation of Nicaragua. In May 2019, Real Estelí won first place in the Elite group of the Europa Tour 2019 cycling competition in San Salvador, El Salvador, hosted by the Cycling Federation of El Salvador. The team also won second place in the Master B category.

Gastronomy

Due to its altitude Estelí can be quite chilly at night or in the morning and even cold in winter. Thus, like all northern mountainous regions of Nicaragua, Estelí's gastronomy consists of a hearty mountain diet of beef, game, veal, rabbit, geese, sausages, and heavy soups like albóndiga, queso, res, etc. There is a high consumption of milk products like smoked or spicy cheeses like ahumado and picante, and regional corn-based dishes such as montucas, salty-sour repochetas, and semi-sweet güirilas. For breakfast, chorizo, refried beans, sour cream, and home-made style bread are more common and black coffee is the king of drinks any time of the day. Though illegal, cususa (a clear alcoholic drink) is also consumed, especially on the outskirts of the city or in small cantinas (bars).

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Estelí is twinned with: ::data[format=table] | | | | |---|---| ::

In Sheffield, a section of the promenade alongside the River Don in Sheffield City Centre is named Estelí Parade.

Gallery

File:Tomabú.jpg|Tomabú hill with a height of 1,445 meters, it is covered with pine forests. File:Tabacoo.jpg|Some of the tobacco fields that are common north of town. File:03shavi garnacha01.jpg|Apaguajil Hill, Tisey - Estanzuela Nature Reserve. File:La-cascada.jpg|Waterfall in Miraflor Nature Reserve. File:El Salto la Estanzuela.jpg|Salto Estanzuela (Estanzuela waterfall) located in the Tisey-Estanzuela Natural Reserve just south of town. File:Jalacate Esculturas en piedra 2.jpg|Jalacate Sculptures just outside town. File:Catedral de Estelí de noche.jpg|Cathedral at night File:South End of Esteli.jpg|South end of Estelí looking towards Las Brisas-Quiabuc Natural Reserve File:Catedral Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Estelí, Nicaragua.jpg|Nuestra Señora del Rosario Cathedral File:Esteli Cathedral.jpg|Nuestra Señora del Rosario Cathedral File:Cine esteli.jpg|Estelí Cinema (Closed), near the Central Park File:Arcos Hotel.jpg|Los Arcos Hotel File:Colegio NSR.jpg|Colegio Nuestra Señora del Rosario File:SALTO ESTANZUELA NICARAGUA.jpg|Salto Estanzuela (Estanzuela waterfall) located in the Tisey-Estanzuela Natural Reserve just south of town File:Rappel estanzuela.jpg|Rappelling down el Salto de la Estanzuela File:Perdomo Factory Esteli Nicaragua.jpg|Perdomo Cigar Factory File:Cigar Factory Esteli Nicaragua.jpg|Cigar Factory File:Matapalo Tree Miraflor, Esteli.jpg|Matapalo Tree in Miraflor Nature Reserve File:Waterfall, Miraflor Esteli Nicaragua.jpg|Waterfall in Miraflor Nature Reserve File:Neblina del Bosque Esteli Nicaragua.jpg|Neblina del Bosque, Miraflor Nature Reserve

References

References

  1. [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/nicaragua/admin/estel%C3%AD/2515/ Citypopulation.de] Population of Esteli municipality
  2. [https://bcn.gob.ni/publicaciones/cartograf%C3%ADa-digital-y-censo-de-edificaciones Banco Central de Nicaragua - Cartografía Digital y Censo de Edificaciones en Nicaragua]
  3. [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/nicaragua/cities/ Citypopulation.de] Population of the major cities in Nicaragua
  4. Anuario de estudios centroamericanos, Issue 2 - Universidad de Costa Rica. Centro de Estudios Centroamericanos
  5. The States of Central America: Their Geography, Topography, Climate, Population, Resources, Productions, Commerce, Political Organization, Aborigines, Etc., Etc. - E. G. Squier Sampson Low, 1858
  6. United States Congressional serial set, Issue 4849
  7. "Archived copy".
  8. (July 2007). "Project Finance".
  9. (19 July 2017). "Transportistas proponen incremento de pasajes en Estelí".
  10. "Estelí Ayer".
  11. "Ferrocarril de Nicaragua".
  12. United States Congressional serial set, Issue 4849 - 1905
  13. "502 Bad Gateway nginx openresty 208.80.154.49".
  14. "Real Estelí Ciclismo".
  15. "Federación Nicaragüense de Ciclismo - FNC".
  16. "Europa Tour - El Salvador 2019".

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