The Diplomatic world is full of generous women, smart and secure, who take the time and effort to guide other diplomatic spouses. Sherly A. Noguera de Argüello is one of them. Dedicated mother and supportive wife, highly accomplished diplomat herself, she is a leading figure promoting her country of origin, Nicaragua, to The Netherlands and to the whole world.
Coming all the way from another continent, Mrs. Noguera de Argüello dedicated her life to make this small country known and admired, putting it many times in the center of attention, through the events she organizes, with infinite intelligence and charm.
She remembers that her father, who was a passionate reader, and her mother, a culinary artist, were initially her mentors and inspiration. She wanted to learn more, and in many fields.
She completed courses in pastry and desserts, besides full graduate studies in commerce, banking, finances, communication and tourism business and Master degrees of Business Administration, Management Human Resources, Local Government and Administration from universities of Nicaragua, Mexico, Spain and Portugal. Before joining the Foreign Service, she worked in Managua in the financial field, then at the National Institute for Tourism, promoting Nicaragua in Latin America, Canada, and Europe. At one point in her life, she also established her own business in the food industry, following her old passion, and taught Tourism and Hospitality at the Universidad del Valle in Managua.
But working for her country, in the Foreign Service, was the start of a lifetime adventure, also a life of promoting and representing Nicaragua in many ways, including organizing top cultural and culinary events, well recognized and highly anticipated in The Hague.
From an administrative assistant to Cultural and Consular attaché, Consul general, Minister Counsellor and Doyenne of the Diplomatic Spouses Association in the Netherlands, she worked her way to the top with constant focus, determination, and endless passion.
After all, cultural diplomacy is nowadays worldwide accepted as one of the most effective and intelligent ways of country promotion. And many times it is done by the spouses, the supportive partners of career diplomats.
As most great personalities usually are, she is also a marvelous human being: a beautiful woman, always generous, modest, friendly, ready to help and get involved, with a soft spot for culture and tourism.
Sherly A. Noguera de Argüello devoted years to research on Nicaraguan cuisine and texts related to the traditional foods, and family recipes. She then adjusted old country recipes to more modern tasting, respecting also other cultures and introducing them to the world, in refined and well-studied events, where socializing and tasting were harmoniously intertwined, so as to leave the participants with a sublime memory of an unforgettable experience, and meanwhile to intrigue them and always make them more curious, more interested in the rich tradition of a country that many did not know before…
“Nicaragua had a magnificent ambassador, Rubén Darío.” She said, “Our distinguished poet, journalist and highest representative of literary modernism was also a true gourmet. He took our recipes to the various countries where he was accredited as a diplomat and with his pen and good taste he left a story that we remember today: The inescapable connection that he always maintained between literature, diplomacy and tasting!”
What are her future plans? … Time is always too short for all that she wants to achieve. She wishes to promote furthermore culinary art from her native country, through events available to all interested. She also plans to organize a Nicaraguan Culinary Exhibition in the Netherlands, with the help of her many Nicaraguan friends, as she sees ancestry traditional foods as a true Culinary Passport of her beloved Nicaragua to the whole world.
She is confident she will succeed with her projects, although now, because of the current situation, things are a bit slow and events are restricted.
But she has such enthusiasm for everything she does, such energy and amazing charisma, that it is impossible not to say: ‘I wish to visit Nicaragua, I want to find out more about this country and its people!’
That’s, after all, the very definition of a diplomatic job well done, of diplomatic goals well achieved. The diplomatic world certainly needs more human beings like her!
