Managua Residents of the city are called "managuas", "managüenses", or "capitalinos". Nicaragua was inhabited by Paleo-Americans as far back as 12,000 BCE. The ancient footprints of Acahualinca are 2,100-year-old fossils discovered along the shores of Lake Managua. Other archaeological evidence, mainly in the form of ceramics and statues made of volcanic stone, like the ones found on the island of Zapatera, and petroglyphs found on Ometepe island, contribute to the increasing knowledge of Nicaragua's ancient history. Founded as a pre-Columbian fishing town, the city was incorporated in 1819 and given the name "Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua". Efforts to make
American Capital of Culture American Capital of Culture The non-governmental organization American Capital of Culture Organization selects one city in the Americas annually to serve as the American Capital of Culture for a period of one year. The organization claims the initiative is based closely on the European Capital of Culture program; it enjoys the backing of the Organization of American States, but the OAS is not involved in the selection process. The American Capital of Culture initiative was born in 1997 and is aimed at all the countries of the Americas ("América" in Portuguese and in Spanish, the main language of most of