Shayron Tower
Biography
Shayron Tower is the founder and director of The Corn Islands Virtual Library. He is an intercultural and digital communication specialist and is also known for his roles as a cultural promoter, photographer, and advocate for education, environmental sustainability, and youth wellbeing.
Born and raised on the Corn Islands, Shayron has always felt a strong connection to the history and culture of his community. From a young age, he began promoting local identity through radio, social media, and a TV programme he created in his teenage years called Juventud al Aire.
He was also part of a youth band called Island Starts, where he played the piano and helped keep local and Caribbean music alive. Over the years, he has documented cultural events such as the Maypole celebrations, Christmas carolling, and Emancipation Day. His work often involves collaboration with researchers, academics, government bodies, and media, and he has given talks about Nicaragua and the Caribbean in places like the University of Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic and the University of Sussex in the UK.
Back home, Shayron regularly visits secondary schools to speak with students about local identity and the importance of preserving their roots. He also writes about the islands for different media outlets and carries out community-based research to gather and preserve oral histories.
In 2020, his photography project, The Creoles of the Nicaribbean, won the national ExpoPhoto Nicaragua competition. Through a series of portraits, he highlighted the unique characteristics of the Afrodescendant Creole communities of Great Corn Island and Pearl Lagoon, aiming to break stereotypes and promote a message of anti-racism.
In 2021, Shayron launched The Corn Islands Virtual Library—a digital space for locals and researchers to explore the island’s rich cultural heritage. Officially launched in May 2023 and supported by the STS Initiative, the platform brings together stories, documents, and historical resources, thanks to contributions from community members dedicated to preserving their history.
Although his work spans tourism, media, education, and youth initiatives, what truly stands out is Shayron’s ongoing commitment to honouring and protecting the heritage of his home, the Corn Islands.
Degrees
Publications
• Assessment of the everyday use and formal learning of the Creole language in the municipality of Corn Island in the Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region of Nicaragua (2021)
• The Rise and Fall of the Mosquito Kingdom: Why was the Mosquito Coast a Failed Indigenous Anglo-Influence Nation? (2024)
