Estelí

Infobox City
official_name = Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí
nickname = "El Diamante de las Segovias" ("The Diamond of the Segovias")
motto = "Estelí, amante del presente, forjador del futuro" ("Estelí, lover of the present, builder of the future")


imagesize =
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image_



mapsize = 150px
map_caption =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 =
subdivision_name = Nicaragua
subdivision_name1 = Estelí
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Pedro Pablo Calderón
leader_title1 = Vice Mayor
leader_name1 = María Teresa Illescas
established_title = Foundation
established_date = 1685
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_total_km2 = 795.7
area_land_sq_mi =
area_land_km2 =
area_water_sq_mi =
area_water_km2 =
area_water_percent =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_urban_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
population_as_of = 2005 est.
population_note =
population_total = 118.909
population_metro =
population_urban =
population_density_km2 = 144.4
population_density_sq_mi =
timezone =
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST =
utc_offset_DST =
latd= |latm= |lats= |latNS=
longd= |longm= |longs= |longEW=
elevation_m = 843.97
elevation_ft =
website = http://www.alcaldiaesteli.gob.ni/

Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua and is the administrative and commercial center of the Northern part of the country.

Located on the Pan-American Highway, 150km north of Managua, Estelí is a fast growing and progressive city of about 119,000 people. It enjoys a pleasant climate throughout most of the year due to its location in the north central highlands at a mean elevation of 844 m above sea level. The city is also surrounded by forested mountains and plateaus that go up to 1600 m above sea level, some which are protected as natural reserves.

Estelí was the scene of heavy fighting in the war against the Somoza government during the 1970s.

Economy & Tourism

The land around Estelí is perfect for growing tobacco for use in cigars, and the town became a refuge for Cuban cigar makers after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Award winning cigars have made Estelí one of the most important cigar-producing cities in the world. Estelí also has many language schools, restaurants, and hotels that 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, Tomabu, Tepesomoto and Moropotente.

According to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation's Municipal Scorecard 2007, which complements the annual Doing Business report, the city of Esteli ranks 5th out of 65 cities in five Latin American countries in quality and efficiency to obtain a municipal operating license and construction permit. [http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/jul/projectFinance/#ifcScorecard]

ports

Estelí is home to one the best and most popular football (soccer) clubs in the country, the Real Esteli, nicknamed "The Train of the North." It is also home to a professional baseball team, Las Segovias - Esteli, which makes it one of only three cities in the country with both a professional football (soccer) and baseball team. During the 1970's, Esteli participated in the "Roberto Clemente" baseball tournament and had one of best baseball teams in the country with the help of one-time big league players like Porfi Altamirano and Albert Williams. [http://www.beisnica.com/final1.htm]

Infrastructure

Estelí has the best water supply systems in the country with near-full population coverage. It also has an extensive sewage disposal coverage. [http://www.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2008/septiembre/06/elecciones/noticias/270046_print.shtml]

At least three airfields have been built in Esteli throughout history, although none exists today. One of the first airfields documented played the role of alternate airport from 1930-34 when TACA established the service to carry passengers with an El Salvador-Tegucigalpa-Danli-Ocotal-Esteli-Managua route. La Thomson, which is three miles north of Esteli, 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 in the north end of town in the 1980s but has now been urbanized. [http://elesteliano.com/revista/ene2007/historia2.htm]

In 1940 efforts were made to expand Nicaragua's railroad from El Sauce to the north via Esteli. Thirteen kilometers of rail, the town of Rio Grande, and a [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/13723761 rairoad bridge] were built with the intention of taking the rail up to Esteli along the Aquesalapa or Villa Nueva rivers which originate in the Quiabuc mountains, however, the project was abandoned. [http://www.manfut.org/managua/tren.html]

Gallery

ister Cities

*flagicon|GER Bielefeld (Germany)
*flagicon|NED Delft (The Netherlands)
*flagicon|SWE Linköping, Sweden
*flagicon|UK Sheffield, United Kingdom
*flagicon|USA Stevens Point, Wisconsin (United States)
*flagicon|NOR Stavanger (Norway)

External links

* [http://www.nortedenicaragua.com/ Norte de Nicaragua]
* [http://www.nortedenicaragua.com/iesteli.htm Norte de Nicaragua - Esteli]
* [http://www.elesteliano.com/ El Esteliano]
* [http://www.nortenica.com/ Portal del Norte de Nicaragua]
* [http://www.estelienlinea.com/portal/web/ Estelí en linea]
* [http://sesp.union.shef.ac.uk/ Sheffield-Estelí Student Partnership]
* [http://www.Miraflor.org/ Miraflor Natural Reserve]

References