Humberto Antonio Parrales Reyes

“I want him to be remembered as a hero”

Murdered in Managua on May 16, 2018

Iris Magalis Lagos González, Humberto Antonio Parrales Reyes’s wife, recalls that they got along well and had a lovely relationship. They were married in the Ríos de Agua Viva Church, where the whole family worshipped.  Humberto was 40-years-old and he worked at the Pepsi Cola bottling company.  He was a serious man, sometimes appearing angry, but he was a loving person and he suffered when he saw others suffering.  His sister, an anesthesiologist, sent him medicines and he always gave them away to people in need. He had a good relationship with the children from his wife’s and his previous marriages, as well as with other family members and his neighbors.

“Humberto was a man who went from his home to work, and vice-versa. He organized a children’s soccer team called Los Galácticos and he dreamed of his team getting to the finals. He wanted to work hard to build a well-made house and provide us with a more comfortable living situation. He was going to request a loan to buy a better house because the company was offering loans to buy homes in a newer neighborhood. However, when he went into the UPOLI, his dreams were snuffed out,” narrates his wife

Noel Ramón Calderón Lagos, Iris Magalis’s son, had barricaded himself in the UPOLI and Humberto would go at night to accompany him. While there, he also began to collaborate, bringing water and supplies to the independent protesters—young people from the university—and others at the barricades in the Carlos Marx neighborhood.

On May 15th Iris and Humberto went to the UPOLI and they found Noel complaining of a stomachache. Since there were no medicines to relieve his discomfort, Humberto, Noel and a nephew named Hansell, went by motorcycle to look for a pharmacy. It was almost midnight. On their way back they were rammed by a taxi that had followed them, and the driver signaled to several paramilitaries who were pursuing people in the area. Hansell was able to escape but Humberto and Noel were murdered.

“I want him to be remembered as a hero because he gave his life for Nicaragua, so that we would be free from so many crimes and so much impunity. We were blind to all of the things that were happening. There must be justice for each person who died, because every mother, every family member has been left with a void in their heart, and emptiness at the table. They destroyed the dreams of our children, and we have been destroyed as families. Nothing will ever be the same.  I will always hold them in my heart,” says Iris Magalis.