Under intense heat and with the risk of contracting coronavirus, 800 people got married over the weekend as part of the “mass weddings” organized by a Nicaraguan radio station every February 14 for 18 years.
The 400 couples, accompanied by family and friends, signed the legal documents of their union on Saturday in an open-air auditorium of the Managua Mayor’s Office, where six judges and a notary public certified the marriages.
The couple, from teenagers to older adults, met again on Sunday to “say yes” on Paseo Xolotlán, an esplanade on the shores of the capital’s lake of the same name and next to a restaurant complex managed by the Sandinista municipal government.
Holding hands, the couples entered the site for the swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by more than a thousand people, including family members, friends, judges, lawyers and the spouses themselves.
The brides looked solemn dressed in elegant white dresses with their partners in black suits and ties, outfits unthinkable for a Sunday afternoon in tropical Managua. Through huge speakers the wedding march sounded.
All couples wore masks to prevent COVID-19 infections, but not most of the family members and onlookers who crowded one another to record the expected moment with their phones.
The ceremony also attracted dozens of street vendors for lottery, water, ice cream and hot dogs, most of them arriving without masks.
This event has been held in Nicaragua every Valentine’s Day since 2003, organized by the pro-Sandinista radio station Nueva Radio Ya, which manages the sponsorship of the Judicial Power and the Capital City Municipality and bears the costs of legal procedures.
According to William Martínez, a radio official, more than 10,000 couples have been married in the 18 “mass weddings” held to date. Among the 800 lovers who got married this Sunday are a Guatemalan, a Venezuelan and two Honduran women.
Martínez said that the radio named Vice President Rosario Murillo, wife of President Daniel Ortega, “godmother of the event.” None attended the ceremony.
Radio journalists who interviewed the participants highlighted the free procedures and insisted on obtaining words of gratitude from the government. “This is one more victory for our commander Daniel and our colleague Rosario, a gift that he is giving us to the citizens,” said Denis Medina, one of those interviewed.
Since COVID-19 appeared in Nicaragua last March, the government has stood out for not decreeing quarantines or suspending classes. On the contrary, the authorities have promoted marches, music festivals and sports competitions without biosecurity measures.
The government records only 6,347 positive cases and 171 deaths from coronavirus. In contrast, the Citizen Observatory, a network of independent doctors and activists, reported 12,890 infections and 2,961 deaths attributable to COVID-19 until last week.
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