On Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of March, experience fashion at its best in the cozy surroundings of Casco Viejo. Fashion, culture, music and art join this time in a single place for everyone that enjoys all of these worlds. Physical (Modeling and Academy) and Heineken get together and brings you the Fashion Fest 2009.

With the support of the Major’s office and other sponsors, the Casco Viejo will be the special scene where it conjugates live music, photography, art, culture and fashion. There will be national and international designers from Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Peru, as well as exhibitions from local photographers and a tribute exposition to photographer Gustavo Araujo. Araujo was especially talented for fashion photography and modeling pictures.

The runway will get dressed with national and international recognized designers like Irma Casis, Moises Sandoya, Jaime Luna, Tova Mizrachi, among others.
Don’t miss at all this two day event starting at 5:00 p.m. each day at Plaza Catedral totally free.

Casco Viejo is the name given to the old quarters of Panama City.  It was founded in 1673; after Panama Viejo (Old Panama) was destroy by the pirate Morgan.  Today, you can enjoy the remains and legacy of the diverse Spanish, American, French, neoclassical and art nouveau architecture, that made Casco Viejo a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today, Casco Viejo is undergoing a new face lift to restore the city to its old glory.  Many works has been done thanks to the donations of public and private entities.  These renovations of historic buildings and houses give an interesting look for museums, embassies, churches, private’s home, and even the Presidential Palace.

When you are in Casco Viejo, you can’t skip the night entertainment that is rising from the ashes of this historic place.  They are many places to visit where you can go and enjoy great food or even try some salsa dancing.

For some formal dining you can try Las Bóvedas, which has great food. It is a very interesting building because you will be dinning in an old colonial dungeon and is located at Plaza de Francia.  If you want to try something more informal restaurant go to Cedro’s, which carries local food like patacones (fried plantains), arroz con pollo (chicken and rice casserole), and ropa vieja (delicious meat stew), located next to the Hotel Central in Central Avenue.

For night life entertainment my favorite spots are Platea and La Casona de las Brujas.  Platea is a bar on the ground floor of an old colonial house.  You can find jazz performance and salsa bands playing nightly, and it is located across the old Club Union.  La Casona is an artsy cultural center/bar.  Besides art exposition, it is also a center for independent and foreign films.

A makeshift stage for the performances in the patio and the great service makes La Casona a very hip place without been snobby or pricey.  Nobody would look down at you if you are not dress to impress. La Casona is located in Plaza Herrera.

Your walk through the Casco Viejo is not complete without a visit to the Presidential Palace.  Originally this building housed the “Aduanas” or customs offices.  It was remodeled in 1922 by the supervision of the president Dr. Belisario Porras and the design of the architect Leonardo Villanueva, who gave the building a more contemporary style following the standards of the Spanish architecture of the time.

This exquisite building has numerous focal points that you would be delighted no to miss, like:  the Moorish columns cover with shell nacre, the fountain in the central patio of Andalusia style, the Yellow Room, and the Moorish Room.  The Presidential Palace it’s also known as The Herons Palace.  The Panamanian poet Ricardo Miro brought two white herons to president Porras and since that day there have always been herons in the Andalusia patio.