Porto Diao continues to expand. Who would’ve thunk that a year ago the Little Portal That Could was nothing more than me playing around with a server, figuring out what to do with it? Now we have a gazillion things going on, and I’d like to take the time to showcase them because, modesty aside, I believe that what PortoDiao.com is doing here in Panama, nobody else is. I remember way back when I first started this abomination I call Rob Rivera dot com that a reader dropped a comment on one of my many editorials where I complained about the state of my country and how we’re socially retarded. I remember the comment saying that, summarizing, it would be hypocritical of me to point out society’s ills without being out there, actually doing something about it, making the changes I so loudly profess happen. That stuck to me, because the commenter was right: how could I look at myself in the mirror and point stuff out in a “holier-than-thou” attitude without much to show for it? As if I hadn’t bought my ticket to the bitching train. Well, it’s taken a while, but I believe that I’ve finally earned the right.

Cupido Must Die!: Created out of Yamile’s frustration over the consumerism that has bastardized the so-called “holiday” of Valentines, our first MEME movement was born. Having started it the first day of February, in a matter of days you found our little Cupido Must Die buttons all across the Panamanian interweb, with people discussing the validity of the holiday in MySpace and Message Board pages. We intend to make this a yearly thing, as you might expect. People always take the subject of love to heart, and as long as we can spark discussion, we believe it’s a good initiative to push forward.

MATADOR!: Panama’s first-ever Alternate Reality Game, it’s the Porto Diao version of a Gotcha game, but points-based, with bonuses and surprises. The premise, “Play Alive or Die Trying!” is exactly what it implies: search and destroy your mark, before the “assassin” assigned to you gets to you first. It is a closed tournament with a limited amount of players, and it goes over the course of a month, with extensions, plot twists and more. The point of this game is to give Panamanians the chance to know complete strangers, tied to the player by a common interest. As with many things that are introduced for the first time, play mechanics and the use of the tools provided (this is the first game where the portal, the tournament site, the forums, the Facebook group and the image galleries were all introduced as tools so that players could find their marks) have improved in terms of usage over time. I had the epiphany one Sunday with Jenny over brunch.

Grainjaus!: Having heard of “Grindhouse,” I remembered the times where I’d go with my dad to the drive-in theater we used to have in the city (sadly, today it’s nothing but a junkyard) and how much fun I used to have when I was little. Not so much because of the movies themselves, but because my dad would take me out of the car and, along with my mom, we’d meet people. People coming together to share the experience of watching a movie. Now, fast-forward a decade or two and recently I’ve found myself in honest-to-goodness “event films,” and have finally comprehended what I’ve come to learn since I first started to appreciate movies as an art form: a good movie is not only a product of great set design, acting and directing. It’s also about how it makes you feel. So, with that in mind, along with Luke de Sade and Butter, I wanted to bring that feeling of discovery and camaraderie back, in an environment where people could drink, scream, laugh and react without being politically incorrect… that, my friends, is what Grainjaus! is all about.

Zombie Walk: At last! A project without an exclamation point! I like exclamation points. Anyway, as the name implies, the Zombie Walk is a marathon full of undead folks as we cause havoc on unsuspecting passers-by. The first real event we did, it’s become pretty popular among fans as the premise is flawless: use Halloween to dress up and stir the shit of people who use the “holiday” as an excuse to go out to clubs dress up as whatever, as opposed to being dressed up like they’re going to meet The Queen. Came up with the idea of doing a walk in Panama a few days after JSpotPanama.com did the excellent BirriaFest in 2006, remembering how my friend Key-K liked the idea of doing this sort of thing just to do something different. There are pictures of how that went in 2006 over at the PortoDiao.com portal. With more notoriety and the reputation of doing crazy, innovative stuff, I expect even more people to show up this year.

Those are just the projects that are actually up and running. There are other several things I’m aching to release, and I will in due time. We want to do things right. The Porto Diao grip is also in other projects, where I serve as a collaborator:

Butterfest TV: The guy is the Brad Pitt to my George Clooney, so sometime during December, with the unleashing of the 1^st Beer & Blogs, Butter got proactive and decided to do what, I believe, is the 1^st Panamanian Internet TV show. 10 minutes a pop and (mostly) bimonthly, the focus is to bring forth Panamanian bands and show them to the rest of the world. Sort of like a video report of the goings-on in the Panama band scene. With the help of Flip and Pedro, the show just keeps getting better and better as time goes by. My role there is of “producer,” if “producing” consists of pushing Butter into doing things, paying for things now and then and doing camera when Flip can’t. I’m glad of being a part of it.

LoveisFound.com: The URL had been tossed around a little after I first got Porto on its feet and, coming from Zeccke’s idea, we decided we would bring speed dating to Panama. The premise is cool, as in as long as you’re in Panama for when a “Night o’ Dates” happens, you can sign up from any part of the world. Quite simple, really: you sign up, and when we post when the next “evening” will be and where, you show up and begin your speed dating round. If you like a girl, you write down; if she likes you, we’ll set you up on a proper date. It’s like we’re doing the heavy lifting for you! I like this idea, specially for Panama since we’re so scared of strangers coming up to us to talk and get to know us that it’s very rare that you become friends with someone from direct contact; it’s always “a friend of a friend.” We want to change that, and Love is Found is a step towards that direction.

Things can only get better from here. I just hope I don’t become like the warhorses of Panamanian literature that have been pushing culture forward old school for the past 140 years (they are immortals or undead, as I understand) and all I hear is complaints and more complaints. Lots of progress, but with a lot of resentment. I believe I’ve learned from my past experiences and, unlike 5 or so years ago when I knew there was something wrong with Panama and someone needed to address it, now I’ve trumped myself into a situation where, with the help of my friends, I’m making dents. And it looks like I’m only getting meaner and leaner with my punching. Hopefully I won’t feel an increasing resentment as years go by and I’m still in The Suck, I really hope I don’t. But I’m glad that me and the excellent group of individuals I’ve managed to unite bring something new and different to the table, something so off the wall and unlike anything else that’s happening here and I’m absolutely, positively proud of showing it off. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make a country’s first 100% Internet marketing/event/multimedia troupe. Watch the Porto Diao space, because good things are coming your way.

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