Daniel Ortega

"We are not afraid!" Daniel (Ortega), (Anastasio) Somoza are the same thing! " That's one of the cries heard in almost daily protests in Nicaragua since April 18 when mass demonstrations began. The images of riot police charging students sparked massive protests across the country demanding an end to repression and the restoration of democratic liberties.

Parents holding their children in their arms, couples hugging each other, strangers helping and comforting each other. The protests in Nicaragua have also served, for the first time in two decades, to bring many people out onto the streets in public demonstrations of compassion.

The government of Nicaragua has not made an official count of victims in the protests. The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh), an independent body, has confirmed more than 50 dead and hundreds of wounded, in addition to an indeterminate number of detainees and disappeared. Beyond the numbers, the protests leave a lot of pain, especially in the families of the deceased. Javier Bauluz attended the wake of Nelson Téllez, 35, who was buried May 2 in Ciudad Sandino, and Kevin Ávila, 23, buried May 7 in Managua.

"¡No tenemos miedo!; !Daniel (Ortega), (Anastasio) Somoza son la misma cosa!" Esos son algunos gritos que se oyen cada día en Nicaragua desde el pasado 18 de abril cuando comenzaron las manifestaciones multitudinarias. Las imágenes de los antimotines cargando contra los estudiantes hicieron que la población saliera a las calles para pedir el fin de la represión y el restablecimiento de las libertades democráticas.

Resistance, pain, insurrection, remembrance, love and downfall. These are the themes that photojournalist Javier Bauluz witnessed in the midst of the protests sweeping Nicaragua, where a popular uprising is demanding democratic change. (Bauluz is the first Spaniard to win a Pulitzer Prize and the founder of Periodismo Humano, a website focused on human rights.)

Conforme crece el rechazo al gobierno, en Nicaragua van cayendo los símbolos que lo representan. La bandera roja y negra sandinista ha sido sustituida por la azul y blanco nacional. Los manifestantes se han empeñado en derrumbar cualquier muestra de la pareja presidencial en las calles: desde las gigantografías con sus rostros y lemas hasta los ‘árboles de la vida’, unas enormes y costosas estructuras metálicas colocadas por deseo de Rosario Murillo en Managua.