Managua was not until the mid-1990s that Managua began to see a resurgence. Managua's population is composed predominantly of mestizos and whites who are mainly of Spanish descent, with a minority being of French, Jewish Nicaraguan, German Nicaraguan, Italian, Russian and Turkish descent. There are two possible origins for the name "Managua". It may have originated from the term "Mana-ahuac", which in the indigenous Nahuatl language translates to "adjacent to the water" or site "surrounded by water". Or, it may have come from the Mangue language, where the word "managua" was said to mean "place of the big man" or "chief".
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