The photographs on this page are from a work in progress that I will finish in 2012. "Campesino" is a broad term, one that does not translate easily into English. In Nicaragua campesino (male) or campesina (female) applies to any person who lives in rural areas or is originally from the countryside.

Despite a massive push towards urban living in the 20th century (one that continues today), the mindset of the Nicaraguans remains essentially rural and all that is associated with rural-ness in Nicaragua. The heart of this mindset, the collective soul of Nicaragua, is still located in the deep in the Nicaraguan countryside, precisely where these images were taken.

This black & white documentary series does not strive to serve as an anthropological survey of the Nicaraguan campesino, but rather to provide a glimpse into the heart of the Nicaraguan community. It is a photo essay that invites the viewer into the materially poor, yet somehow enviable life of the Nicaraguan campesino.

The campesinos are people from whom one from the industrial world could learn much. Though only if able to sweep back a veil of urban arrogance. The Nicaraguan campesinos possess a unique prosperity, one that many from the overdeveloped world have grown almost too blind to see. It is a profoundly human wealth, rich as a black rural night that drips with stars and cuddles the wind with trees.