León’s most entertaining and eclectic museum, the Museum of Myths & Traditions is now housed in La XXI (the 21st Garrison). What makes this museum unmissable is the striking contrast of its main subjects: a quirky collection of life-sized papier-mâché figures from Leónese history and legend, handmade by founder Señora Toruña (also represented in glorious papier-mâché), and murals graphically depicting methods the Guardia Nacional used to torture prisoners.
You’re led from room to room, each dedicated to a different aspect of Leónese folklore, from La Gigantona – the giant woman who represents an original colonist, still ridiculed by a popular ballet folklórico – to La Carreta Nagua (Chariot of Death), which picks up the souls of those foolish enough to cross intersections catercorner.
And between each rundown of local legends, your Spanish-speaking guide will cheerfully shift gears to describe the gory human-rights abuses – stretching on racks, beatings, water tortures etc – that took place here regularly until June 13, 1979, when Commander Dora María Téllez successfully breached Somoza’s defenses and secured La XXI for the Sandinistas, releasing all prisoners. Signage is in English and Spanish.
