Nicaraguan songwriter tells government to change its tune

"A famous Nicaraguan revolutionary singer-songwriter has asked the government to stop using his music," the Associated Press is reporting:

Carlos Mejia Godoy, who penned the hymn of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front, said in a letter published Saturday that President Daniel Ortega and his staff are not authorized to use his songs at government events.

He did not dispute the use of the party hymn he wrote, but he gave government-supported television and radio outlets a week to stop using a version that he recorded.

Mejia Godoy is among several Sandinistas who formed a new party after breaking with Ortega, who served as Sandinista leader in the 1980s and fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels. Mejia Godoy ran unsuccessfully for vice president in 2006, when Ortega won the presidency.

In the letter published in two Nicaraguan newspapers, Mejia Godoy says he will file a lawsuit if the government continues to use his music without permission.

The government did not publicly respond to the letter or messages seeking comment.

Photo credit: German Miranda

-- Reed Johnson in Mexico City