Managua

A serenade to Managua

In “Managua, linda Managua”, Otto de la Rocha addresses the city as a young woman. The words describe her clothes and sandals as if he were singing a serenade, turning the capital itself into the person being addressed.

The composer wrote the song after the 1972 earthquake that devastated Managua. Decades later, in 2017, he returned to it for a new recording with Banda M-16, telling the radio station that the band arrangement was a new experience for him. The song had already become one of the works most closely associated with his name.

De la Rocha was also a radio storyteller and performer as well as a songwriter. His serenade lets a listener hear affection for Managua through the details of a person’s dress and appearance, rather than through a list of landmarks.