Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A man takes part in a bullfight during the Santa Teresa festival in Carazo, south from Managua on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A man is tossed by a bull during the Santa Teresa festival in Carazo,Nicaragua on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A man transports a coffin across a river using rope and pulley as he travels with others to collect the body of a relative at the flood affected remote community of San Nicolas 95.7 miles north of Managua October 20, 2011. Twelve people died in the floods after heavy rains in the area.
AP reports:
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — At least 105 people have died in flooding and landslides provoked by 10 days of heavy rains in Central America, authorities said Thursday.
More than a million people have been affected in the region, prompting officials to ask for humanitarian aid and urge those unaffected to show solidarity.
Almost 60 inches of rain have accumulated in the past 10 days. The cumulative record of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the region in 1998, killing 11,000 people, was 34 inches, said Salvadoran Natural Resources Minister German Rosa Chavez.
The AP reports from Managua, Nicaragua:
In her glowing pink dress and tiara, Maria Jose Martinez looked the part of the excited princess celebrating her 15th birthday as friends and family gathered for her coming-out party.
She and her father entered the ballroom of the Managua hotel in grand style, between two rows of cadets from the Nicaraguan Military Academy standing at attention with bayonets raised. The thin, sad-eyed girl later let out a thrilled laugh as she danced with one of the green-uniformed soldiers.
Esteban Felix / AP
Leukemia patient Maria Jose Martinez tries on the dress she will wear at her Quinceanera, or 15th birthday party, in her hospital room at La Mascota Children's Hospital in Managua, Nicaragua, on Aug. 25.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria sits in Dr. Mercedes Arguello's office in the oncology area of La Mascota Children's Hospital in Managua on Sept. 20. She is in her second cycle of chemotherapy and has had three operations since she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia six months ago.
Just hours before, Maria Jose had woken up in a different world, with no pink dress and no long, gold-streaked hair. She had sat up in bed with her bald pate and T-shirt pale in the morning sun, one of dozens of girls receiving treatment for leukemia at the La Mascota hospital in the capital of Managua.
Maria Jose had entered the hospital in May suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, meaning her body produced too many white blood cells. Chemotherapy and other treatment often left her weak and in pain, and her weight had fallen to only 84 pounds (38 kilograms).
Esteban Felix / AP
A medicine drip is secured to Maria's hand on Aug. 25 as she tries on the dress she will wear to her Quinceanera.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria dances with a military cadet as her father, left, looks on during a mass Quinceanera at a hotel in Managua on Aug. 27.
Despite her illness, Maria Jose, along with some two dozen other girls, had dressed up, left their hospital rooms and taken part in the late-August quinceanera party marking their birthdays. An association of parents with cancer-stricken children had organized the party.
"I wanted to cry because she looked so happy despite her illness," said Maria Jose's mother Petrona Guido.
Maria Jose herself acknowledged that her leukemia had slowed her down. She hadn't wanted to stop dancing with one of the cadets after just two songs.
"That was because I felt sick, otherwise I would have swirled him in the air at least three times," Maria Jose said afterward.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria, center, watches her sisters try on ball dresses to be worn during her Quinceanera in La Cuchilla village during Maria's temporary discharge from hospital on Aug. 29.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria, sitting left center, poses for a group portrait with other patients from La Mascota Children's Hospital as they celebrate their Quinceanera at a hotel in Managua on Aug. 27.
Associated Press photographer Esteban Felix followed Maria Jose through the day's preparations and celebrations, as she weakly embraced her twin sister Maria Mercedes from her hospital bed and later returned by wheelchair to her room while still in party dress.
Felix returned with Maria Jose two days later to her tropical hometown of La Cuchilla about 115 miles north of the capital. A crowd of well-wishers, some playing guitar, mandolin and violin, tearfully welcomed Maria Jose as she approached.
About two weeks later, Maria Jose donned another pink dress and cloth roses again for a quinceanera held during Mass at a local chapel. With her thin, brown arms protruding from her dress, she cried with head bowed.
By nightfall, her body had reached a limit, and she cried in pain as two male relatives helped her walk back home.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria, reflected in the car's side view mirror, smiles as she sees her relatives and neighbors awaiting her arrival in La Cuchilla village on Aug. 29.
Esteban Felix / AP
Maria rests in a hammock in her home before celebrating her Quinceanera in Las Cuchillas village on Sept. 11.
A day later, she was back at Hospital Mascota for more treatment. Her quinceaneras had passed. Symbolically, her childhood had ended, and her life as a woman had begun.
For Maria Jose, the hard fight against cancer also lay ahead.
But she said she was happy.
"I thank God that I'm here, that I'm alive."
Esteban Felix / AP
In this combo of two photos taken on Aug. 27, Maria is pushed in a wheelchair by her father Juan Jose through a line of cadets from Nicaragua's Military Academy during her Quinceanera, top, and later through the oncology area of La Mascota Children's Hospital as she returns to her room after the party.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
Revelers in Masaya, Nicaragua run away from a bull during festivities in honor of the city's patron saint, San Jeronimo, on Sept. 30, 2011. The town, about 16 miles south of Managua, is noted for its annual festival which is rooted in the Catholic faith of its people. In addition to the bull running, residents participate in folkloric dances and street processions for three months.
Read more International coverage in msnbc’s World News section.
Elmer Martinez / AFP - Getty Images
A man in costume has his back dyed before taking part in the festivities for Managua's patron saint, St. Dominic of Guzman, in Managua, Nicaragua on August 10.
Pictures from the St. Dominic festival and more from Nicaragua on our previous PhotoBlog posts.
Esteban Felix / AP
A girl, carrying a religious statue, takes part in Santo Domingo festivities in Managua, Nicaragua on Aug. 1. Some of the faithful coat their bodies in a black lubricant, red paint and traditional clothes annually as a promise for a prayer or miracle they believe was performed or answered by Managua's patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman. The first 10 days of August are reserved for the carnival-like celebration of Santo Domingo with processions, bullfights, parties and church services.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A devotee covered in motor oil takes a rest in the celebrations honoring the patron saint of Managua, Santo Domingo de Guzman in Nicaragua on Aug. 1.
Esteban Felix / AP
People take part in Santo Domingo festivities in Managua, Nicaragua on Aug. 1.
Elmer Martinez / AFP - Getty Images
A tranvestite poses during a gay pride parade in Managua, Nicaragua, on June 28.
Esteban Felix / AP
A woman wearing a traditional Nicaraguan mask known as "Ahuizote", spits gasoline to make fire during the celebrations of the International Poetry Festival in Granada, Nicaragua, Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Esteban Felix / AP
A woman dressed as a traditional Nicaraguan character known as "The Widow" looks to the camera as she attends a symbolic burial of the "Sadness and Poverty of the soul" during the celebrations of the International Poetry Festival in Granada, Nicaragua, Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Esteban Felix / AP
People take part in carnival celebrations, part of the 5th International Poetry Festival in Granada, some 50km south of Managua, Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Esteban Felix / AP
A man looks under a Nicaraguan traditional doll known as 'La Gigantona' during the celebrations of the International Poetry Festival in Granada, Nicaragua, Wednesday, Feb 16.
Esteban Felix / AP
People wearing traditional Nicaraguan masks known as "Ahuizotes", carry a coffin during a symbolic burial of the "Sadness and Poverty of the soul" as part of the celebrations of the International Poetry Festival in Granada, Nicaragua, Wednesday, Feb. 16.
What an unique way to celebrate poetry.
The city of Granada is mostly known for its tourist interest due to its history and architecture. However, the city has also been characterized by its cultural profile which transformed Granada into the host city for the International Poetry Festival since 2005. This event is a celebration of poetry and culture with poets from all over the world participating, and it is currently the largest poetry event in Nicaragua and Central America.
Every year a large number of prestigious poets are invited to the city to participate in the Festival, which was first initiated by the Civil Society group. Internationally recognized poets travel to Granada – a city which might be declared Cultural and Natural Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO, an initiative supported by poets of the previous festivals – to recite poems and participate in this cultural event.
Oswaldo Rivas / Reuters
A monkey rides on the back of a bull during a bullfighting event at the festival of the El Senor de Esquipulas at the Tipitapa town, some 16 miles north of Managua, Jan. 16.
It would be difficult, but I think worthwhile, work to bring joy to these young patients.
Inti Ocon / Reuters
Clown Ernesto Aguirre (L) jokes with a fellow clown while visiting a young cancer patient at the La Mascota children's hospital in Managua on Dec. 24. Aguirre has been visiting the hospital at Christmas for the last five years to bring joy and gifts to children suffering from cancer.
Inti Ocon / Reuters
Clown Ernesto Aguirre (R) tries to cheer up a boy suffering from throat cancer at the La Mascota children's hospital in Managua on Dec. 24.
Inti Ocon / Reuters
Clown Ernesto Aguirre applies face paint at the La Mascota children's hospital in Managua on Dec. 24.
Esteban Felix / AP
Photographer Daniel Pavon carries his prop to a local market where he hopes to make pictures of people posing with the horse in San Carlos, Nicaragua, Friday Nov. 12, 2010.
Photographers often have to haul gear to their shoots, but this is as large a piece of kit as I've seen.
Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters
A tourist slides across Managua's Tiscapa Lagoon in Nicaragua on Friday, June 10.
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