Museum sights in León
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Museo de Leyendas Y Mitos
The Museum of Myths & Legends is unmissable. The contrast of its main subjects is striking: a quirky collection of life-size papier-mache figures from Leónese history and legend, handmade by founder Señora Toruña (also represented in glorious papier-mache), and murals graphically depicting methods used by the National Guard to torture prisoners.
The museum is located inside what used to be a prison during the Somoza regime. The prison was built in 1921 - hence its name, La XXI (the 21st Garrison). You'll be led from room to room, each dedicated to a different aspect of Leónese folklore, from La Gigantona - a giant woman representing an original colonist still ridiculed…
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Museo de Arte Fundación Ortiz-Guardián
Probably the finest contemporary art museum in Central America, the Ortiz-Guardián Collection has spilled over from its original home in Casa Don Norberto Ramiréz, refurbished in 2000 to its original Creole Civil style, with Arabic tiles and impressive flagstones. It and another beautiful old home across the street are now packed with artwork; a Spanish-speaking guide costs extra, and is well worth it.
Begin surrounded by the luxurious realism of the Renaissance and spare beauty of the colonial period, then wander through romanticism, modernism, postmodernism and actually modern pieces by Cuban, Peruvian and other Latin American schools. Rubens, Picasso, Chagall and oth…
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Museo de Arte Sacro
Call ahead to make sure the intriguing Museo de Arte Sacro is open, as the curator and founder, Monsignor Ricardo Clemente Juárez Soza, sometimes needs to run errands during the day. You've probably noticed that this neighborhood's churches are in some disrepair, a situation that inspired Juárez to preserve the region's absolutely beautiful 16th- and 17th-century religious art right here, where it would be safe.
Faithfully detailed wooden saints - including one of the first Virgins of Guadalupe - to more ostentatious examples of baroque overkill, including lots of gold and silver artifacts, have been packed in the original Casa de Cultura Subtiava, built in 1544.
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Museo Entomológico
Still not open to the general public at press time, biologists Jean Michel Maes and Joan Tellez have big plans to display the largest collection of Nicaraguan insects in the world. In the meantime, you can visit the Museo Entomológico by appointment only, although you may have to root through stacks of bug trays to find your favorite insect.
The specialty is Lucanidae, a genus of beetles where males usually display ferocious-looking pincers, but there are also heaps of butterflies and other more charismatic critters to peruse.
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Museo Insurreccional Luís Manuel Toruño
The fine Museo Insurreccional Luís Manuel Toruño was recently relocated from León proper to this smaller Subtiava Sandinista stronghold, two blocks east and one and a half blocks south of San Juan Bautista. Also called El Buzón (Big Mailbox), this building was a secret weapons depot during the revolution. Curator 'El Chanclazo' has kept the faith and displays his enormous collection of revolutionary mementos, newspaper clippings, and communist memorabilia; if it's not open, ask around.
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Galería de Héroes y Mártires
Monuments to León's more recent history include the Galería de Héroes y Mártires, run by mothers of FSLN veterans and fallen heroes. There's some signage in English and Spanish, but you're here to look into the eyes of more than 300 revolutionaries, mostly pimply faced teens with feathered disco haircuts, and wonder if you would be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to free your country from dictatorship. A small craft shop supports the gallery.
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Museo Adiáct
Museo Adiáct is a beautifully (if faded) muraled building that also houses the neighborhood's government; you may need to ask them to open this interesting little museum. Funeral urns, ceramic tableware, stone statues and more are on display, with very little signage or attempt at a timeline. Old copies of La Voz de Adiáct magazine, with news and views about the history of Barrio Subtiava, are piled on shelves toward the front.
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