Fieldwork Archive
Processional Piece/Pescador de hombres
Performed by Banda Filarmónica Apolo.
Recorded July 27, 2025 at Iglesia San Juan Bautista de Sutiava, León, Nicaragua (acquisition date: July 28, 2025).
Performed during procession in honor of the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Performed on brass and drums. Recorded by Claudio Alexander Urbina on behalf of Derek Piotr.
The first half of this Nicaraguan processional piece, in the style of a funeral march, most resembles a portion of the tune of "Pasos del peregrino" by Miguel Ángel Solís, although it also strongly resembles the style of other Nicaraguan composers like Alejandro Vega Matus, who wrote many marches and often titled them only by numbers.
Halfway through this recording, the melody turns into that of "Pescador de hombres", a popular Spanish hymn composed by Cesáreo Gabaráin in 1974.
Catholic processions have been largely banned or restricted in Nicaragua since 2023 under the Sandinista dictatorship, purportedly for public safety concerns, but the government has been known to arrest and exile Catholic clergy for their criticism of the regime.
The bishop of León is said to be more favorable in the eyes of the government; it is likely for this reason that the popular street processions in León for the feast days of St. Jerome and Virgen de la Merced (Virgin of Mercy) have yet to be banned, even though they are banned in other cities like Masaya.
With the exception of those two feast days, the few other processions allowed to take place in León are only allowed inside the church and within a small perimeter just outside the walls of the church.
