This week was the start of the Panamanian holiday season. "Fiestas Patrias" (Independence Day Celebrations) kicked off with a big parade that started here in Casco Viejo, went past the presidential palace and into the city. Yesterday (November 3) was "Separation Day" celebrating the creation of the Republic of Panama when it separated from Colombia in 1903. Today was "Flag Day," followed by “Colon Day" (when Colon, on the Pacific side got the word about separation from Columbia) on the 5th, and then — "The Uprising in the Villa de Los Santos" (the first call for independence from Spain) on the 10th. Closing out the month is “Independence Day” (from Spain) on November 28. Lot’s of parades and festivities all across the country. Read More . . .

Tags: Events | Cultural

Yesterday was World Beach Cleanup Day and our neighborhood organization (AVACA) joined the effort. Beaches across Panama where selected by varies groups and by all accounts it was a good day for the environment and environmentally awareness in Panama. Unlike our previous cleanup efforts in Casco Viejo that had focused on cleanup and education, this project also performed an inventory of all the trash that was collected - trying to gather some data on what was washing up on these various beaches and thereby gaining some insight on where all this stuff comes from. We had a pretty good turnout, the weather cooperated (cloudy, not too hot) and the organizers were happy with the data collected.       
Take care.

Tags: Events

Last night we drove across town to the Teatro Anayansi to see the international touring production of Stomp - fifteen years, 350 cities in 36 countries. We “sort of” knew what to expect - music and dance and it had to be LOUD (Jane had even considered getting some earplugs) - but were surprised. Despite the variety of rhythms coming from brooms, chairs, trash cans, PVC pipe, tin cans and lots of other stuff - the decibel level was very low (even by our “old folks” standard). In fact, is was downright quiet for the “numbers” that utilized match boxes, Zippo lighters, newspaper and the like as “instruments.” The show was also surprising in that it contained a good deal of comedy and was very visual - you needed to pay attention, and everyone did (little unusual for Panama). We had a great night. Don’t miss this show if it comes to your corner of the world.


Take care. Hope you have a stompin’ good time.

Tags: Events | Music

Yesterday we spent several hours at the Club Ecuestre Metropolitano watching a horse jumping competition. The competition was a qualifying event for an upcoming international event. Most of the riders were young (some very young) and the horses were impressive. It was an interesting change of pace (our first horse show) and we had a nice lunch (BBQ chicken and Papas Fritas) while we watched the festivities along with a fair sized crowd.

The challange (as is most often the case for us) is finding out what's happening before it's over. In this case we did - and enjoyed the afternoon. Read More . . .

Tags: Sights | Events | Video