Archive for the ‘About Panama’ Category
For this post, I’m focusing on the city portion of the carnavals, located in Via España, one of the several main streets of the country. Carnavals officially begin on Friday and end on Tuesday before “Ash Wednesday”. Carnavals in Panama are best known for having fire trucks shoot water at people as they pass by, this is known as “culecos”. You might want to be in the middle of Via España by 10 AM so you can catch these famous culecos, it’s definitely a must do. If you like dancing or enjoy reggae/rap music, you’ll hear a lot of that no matter where you are in the country. Rappers like Mach & Daddy are going to be mixing most of their hits during the first two days of carnavals. You also might want to try going to Omar Park, located ten minutes away from Via España. Los Reyes del Pasa Pasa are going to be there playing their famous Pasa Pasa dance, you don’t want to miss that.
January 30, 2010, 3:00PM at the “Escalinatas del Administration Building” (ACP) is when and where you will be able to enjoy the live music of more than twenty-five well known national and international musicians such as: Sammy y Sandra, Los Rabanes, Omar Alfanno, and Alejandro Lagrotta, just to name a few. These generous artists are donating their talent to this cause so that people can dance and sing for peace. There will be food all over and places where you can Donate money to help out. You’ve got to admit that a party in
During the festival, enjoy performances by: modernist jazz piano player Ellis Marsalis, post bop jazz saxophonist and Grammy award winner Joe Lovano, jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, and percussionist Jamey Haddad. Also with the participation of drummer, composer, and producer Terri Lyne Carrington, jazz double bass and electric bass player John Patitucci, flamenco guitarist Juanito Pascual, and Panamanian jazz saxophonist Carlos Garnett. The New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, The Goldansky Institute, and Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, are also part of the Panama Jazz Festival. They will be offering classes and holding auditions for admission and scholarships to their prestigious programs. The Panama Jazz Festival founder and director is Danilo Perez. Danilo Perez is one of the finest piano players and jazz composer of our time. He played with John Hendricks, Terence Blanchard, and Paquito D’Rivera while still a student at Berklee College of Music. Perez is a Grammy Award winner and member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet. Prices:
Ruben Blades is a Grammy Awards winner singer/songwriter. He worked with great talents like Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Willi Colón, Héctor Lavoe, Mon Rivera, Sting, Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, and Calle Trece. Ruben and Héctor album La Siembra, became in 1978 a bestselling salsa recording with more than 25 million copies. In his last production, Cantares del Subdesarrollo (Song of the Underdevelopment), Ruben Blades comes with a refreshing sound. The album was recorded completely in his garage, the same style that “garage bands” have been using for years, making it fresh and simple without special effects or arrangements. It is as acoustic as it gets. Monday December 7, Ruben Blades is taking the stage at the Figali Convention Center. Get ready to reminiscent a bygone era with hits like Decisiones, Pablo Pueblo, Juan Pachanga, Pedro Navaja, , and Patria! Ticket prices: You should check out the Panama Canal Museum at the Miraflores Visitors Center. At the Miraflores locks you will find the Canal´s 4-story museum. It will show you most everything you need to know about Panama and the Canal. The best thing to do first is to watch one of the movie presentations in the theatre on the ground floor. The theatre presentations are divided for English and Spanish speaking people. Then I suggest you move on to the actual Museum. There are four different exhibition halls: The History Hall, The Hall of Water, The Canal in Action, and finally, The Canal in the World. After you get thru one floor of the museum, you take an escalator up to the next floor, and it goes on for several floors. Not only does the Panama Canal Museum talk about and exhibit information related to the construction of the Canal, but it educates you about other exceptional things that Panama offers. For instance, the flora and fauna in Panama is very unique. Many species are not found anywhere else in the world. Additionally, in one of the several floors of the museum, one can enjoy the experience of a ship Captain going thru the canal. There is a simulator that helps enhance the experience. It makes you feel like you are actually controlling a giant ship. It is best when no one else is around, so you can control it yourself. If other people are in there then it is difficult to control because too many people are crowded in it and do not even know that it is a simulator. In that case you are out of luck. I have been to the Canal Museum when it is empty and when it is full. It is much better empty. You get to do more things without a herd of people around you, pushing you around. But every time I have gone it has been a Saturday, so you can never really tell what the outcome is until you get there. There are several outdoor observation decks where you can get a close view of the ships as they navigate thru the canal. And there are also a couple of snack bars, a gift shop, and a nice restaurant with a great view! The visitor center offers a partial package and a complete package. For resident adults the complete package is $3.00 USD and the partial package is FREE. For non-resident adults the complete package is only $8.00 USD and the partial package is $5.00 USD. It is definitely worth getting the complete package because it includes the theatre presentation and exhibit halls. The Panama Canal Museum is an enjoyable, educational activity for children and adults!
“I am back in Panama City and I have a slight pain on my left ankle but it is nothing serious. I will fully train on Wednesday so as to be fit for the next week´s games”, said Roman Torres. On the other hand, Alberto Blanco stated he expects to adapt quickly to the time zone shifting and help the Panamanian team to beat their Caribbean rivals. He also mentioned that the purpose of these friendly games is to get ready for the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009. Panamanian players did some stretching prior to training. Then, they worked out for about 30 minutes under the supervision of physical trainer Julio Toral. Also, goalkeeper coach Donaldo Gonzalez focused on the two Panamanian goalies Luis Mejia and Kevin Melgar and encourage them to improve their reactions as goalkeeper. In overall, Panama´s coach Gary Stempel is doing a great job with his fellows.
The most anticipated event of the year is coming to town on the 6 and 7 of June. Monster Jam will be in Panama City for the entertainment of Panamanian children, youth and adults. This fabulous event will be taking place at Rod Carew Stadium, where eight of the best Monster Trucks of the world will be reunited. The Monster Jam event consists of two types of competitions: one of speed, where two pickups compete side to side against time, and the ferocious Freestyle, where each one of the pilots must jump or demolish the obstacles in the track, a jury will be in charge of confirming a winner. The Monster Trucks are 11 feet height and 12 feet width, with impressive rimes of 66 inches. The 10,000 pounds Monster Trucks are made short and powerful, with outbreaks of speed that can up to 100 miles per hour and jump up about 25 feet in the air.
Panamanian fans will be able to enjoy this magnificent event and take photos and autographs with the drivers and with the Monster Trucks. An ongoing pit party will begin hours before the destruction show begins. Buy your ticket at Blockbuster Video or Felix B. Maduro and enjoy the best devastation action with the Monster Trucks: Blu Thender, Bulldozer, Grave Digger, Madusa, Maximun Destruction, Monster Mutt Dalmation, Superman and Toro Loco. Panama Grafico 2009 is the exhibition of Panamanian graphical design that in his second triennial edition will be carried out in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama, the 24 of March to the 26 of April of 2009. This exhibition is presented to the public, through 4 rooms, more than 100 projects of visual contact, printed or of alternative means, developed by more than 50 designers and Panamanian studies, Central American designers and of the Caribbean. The public will be able to appreciate posters, developments of visual identity, Graphical Campaigns, publishing material, experimental packing’s and graphical projects with the high levels of creativity and standards of execution. Under the direction of Mariana Núñez and coordination of Elsie González, Panama Grafico 09, besides displaying to the public an impressive set of graphical projects such as visual posters, identities, graphical series, publishing material, packing’s, experimental graph in movement and graphical projects, will also count on weekly workshops of graphical design for professionals and students.
Continuing with the Panama Carnavales spirit, I’m bringing you some information about the way I spent Carnavales.
Friday night I got all my things ready to go to the Central Provinces. This year I decided to go to a place not very famous for its Carnivals, but known for the warmth of its people – Ocu. Turned out, Ocu’s carnivals have been getting bigger and better each year. I would have never thought it would be such wild party.
Full of drinks, tons of wild parties and many, many hot Panama girls, the Carnavales in Ocu are one to remember forever. During the day people would gather around Calle Centro (Central Street), jump, scream and party while they were getting wet with the water from the trucks. At night, some people would stay in Central Street while others would go to the wild party in any of the “mobile” night clubs and local night clubs such as El Viva Panama or El Parking (Panama City trendy night club – PEOPLE).
In summary, Ocu is the location for a tremendous wild party that I totally recommend for your next year Carnival’s celebrations. There’s no need to cry, though carnivals are over, this is just the beginning of this year’s Panama festivities so sit tight and wait to find out more about Panama holidays and wild parties. For more info about Ocu’s Carnivals, visit the town’s webpage: http://paelpueblo.com/. Start your engines and get ready for the biggest party in Panama of the year. For four consecutive days the entire country will be celebrating Carnaval (Mardi grass) with dance, music, and drinks. Carnaval is the most awaited Panamanian festivity that dates since the time of the Romans. The carnaval in Panama has been celebrated since the early 1900’s. In the beginning of the 20th century, carnaval was a few parties where society’s men and women dance in costumes and mask. The popular people celebrated numerous dances and a parade in Santa Ana and Casco Viejo. But in 1910 the Mayor’s Office ordered to organize a civilized carnaval. The first queen of this new organized Mardi grass was Manuelita Vallarino in 1910. And ever since Panama’s Carnaval has queens, parades, floats, and lively intricate costumes. During these days of wild parties and unrestraint people, you can enjoy live music, daytime dance parties and at night continue at discos, night clubs, bars, and street parties with Panamanian and Latin American artists. |
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The Carnavals in Panama are hands down one of the most anticipated events in the world. It’s a party you don’t want to miss out on and best of all, it’s a cheap trip. If you’re planning on travelling to Panama for these 2010 carnavals, there are two ways in doing this. You either stay in the city or head out into what the locals call the “interior” of the country.
Who doesn’t want peace in Panama? These days in certain parts of the country, many victims have to face big problems such as violence. But it doesn’t always have to be this way. That is why Panama is organizing an astonishing live music concert called “Unidos por la Seguridad – Un Concierto por La Paz en Panama (United for Security – A Concert for Peace in Panama).” This is a great way for people to get together and party, but at the same time they are participating in a very important cause. The organizations: “Jovenes en Pro de la Seguridad Ciudadana,” +Movil from Cable & Wireless Panama, together with the support of the First Lady, invite everyone both citizens and tourists alike to partake in this very special event against violence. This is the second year the Concierto por la Paz is organized. So, many people are waiting in excitement to participate in this live music concert. Thousands of citizens and visitors of all ages will attend this fabulous event dressed in white as a symbol of peace in Panama.
The Panama Jazz Festival is celebrating its 7th anniversary, and it will be held January 11-16, 2010. This festival will pay homage to Panamanian pianist Ellerton Oswald, aka Sonny White. Oswald played with Willie Bryant, Sydney Bechet, Teddy Hill, and Andy Newton, and recorded with jazz sensation Billy Holiday.
Ruben Blades is coming to Panama to celebrate Mother’s Day. And with the participation of Residente Calle Trece, and Seis del Solar, this is going to be a great night!
