Sometimes the lesser-known-and- infinitely-satisfying tourist options pass under your activity radar, much to your regret when you find out about them a moment too late. From party boats to salsa dancing, to drinking frozen margaritas in leather seats at your local movie theater to MC battles, live art at bars and theater performances in your language, I hope you’re ready to dive head-first into nights you’ll never forget while out and about in Panama City!
This is less of an informative peace and more of a love letter. I can try to bring you an unbiased report of the mysterious-looking cart that’s parked five nights a week on the corner of Sappore Di Mare and Studio F, out in Via España of the beautiful and dutiful Panama City. I could try. I fear though that my verbose will slowly devolve into an ode to the people’s craft, the sailors and sailorettes burning charcoal and serving bliss in a grilled corn patty in their surely-illegal-but-accredited eatery. I can try to keep it together long enough. I’m not sure if I can, but I will for sure try.
In recent years measures were taken by the government and dubiously necessary Carnival Office to ensure that carnivals in the nation’s capital, Panama City, lived up to the hype garnered in no small part by the country’s dashing strides in tourism and real estate, and whoever lives near this murder scene can grab their complaints and shove them up their sour-trout asses… myself included.
The 3rd season of Latin American Idol ended Thursday night and in a barely surprising turn of events, Panamanian contestant Margarita Henriquez defeated Costa Rican Maria José Castillo thanks to the votes via chat messages from people in Panama and all of Latin America. Panama’s odds of winning were good from the start, with 3 Panamanians present out of the 10 finalists; Margarita has pipes and in the last three months she, surely with the help of vocal coaches and some of the most renowned Spanish-speaking performers in the world, has fine-tuned her instrument into a lethal weapon of song. She deserved to win the contest, and I’m glad that Latin America agreed with the notion. As black-and-white as Margarita’s indisputable win is though, what is truly fascinating is what she has managed to inspire in just a few short weeks simply by the raw power of her presence in LAI: Panama, as a whole, came together for a common goal in such a way that the I can only compare it to how a country deals with acts of war. In many ways (but by no means in the same scale), Margarita’s presence and win in Latin American Idol brought a country together in the same manner that 9/11 brought the U.S. to unity.
Just a quick heads-up for those of you in Panama City; as a member of the Theater Guild of Ancon Board of Governors, it’s my duty (to please that booty) and honor to humbly invite you to get to know one of the oldest theaters in Panama City, and the only one that mounts plays [...]
Let me begin by saying that I am not an economist and the rabbit hole goes much deeper than I’ve managed to crawl myself into regarding the following, and this thesis is open for discussion in and out of my chunk of the internet. Having said that, I was having lunch writing down facts to [...]
I was with my dad doing the morning commute to the office and while he rambled on about the topics he likes to angrily rant about I kept prying into other cars, trying to tune out the noise. We were in Via España, a 5-lane, one way avenue that is one of the main arteries [...]
I decided to take Labor Day off because I am Panamanian and, by association, lazy. I make no qualms about it: I love to have as many free days as I can to vegetate and grow roots to the couch. There was a cause to go outside this year’s Labor Day, though. One that would [...]
While I get off my ass and bring you installments 3 and 4 of my carnivals diary (very belated, I know) before the other topics I want to get into trump it in the output queue line, I’d like to share this article that hit my inbox yesterday morning. It comes from good friend and [...]
I arrived a little late to the Beer & Blogs deal which took place last night at Steinbock, but I can still tell you my impressions. The reason why I couldn’t make it on time, as it turns out, was because I was too busy having a hollow metal needle pierce one of my earlobes. [...]
Day 2 of my Carnival Diary still pending, I just wanted to come in here and rant a little; it’s a practice I’ve somehow put aside as of late and I’m slowly trying to get back into the groove. Without further adieu then, I want to talk to you about 3 things that marked this [...]
Just a quick reminder of the events the Porto Diao gang has lined up for all of our readers and friends. There has been some rearranging in the House of Porto, mostly because this March 23rd marks the first anniversary of the dastardly charmer. That’s right, a year ago Quique and I bought a server [...]
So, today is Valentine’s Day. This post is gonna be short because I already ranted about this so-called “holiday” yesterday; instead I’ve chosen to invite you to 2 things that Porto Diao has cooked up for you. Up in the brand-spankin’ new Porto Diao blog, we’ll be posting all of the special events [...]
I want you to take a deep breath. Take a deep breath and think before you say anything. This rant is more of a worldwide scale, but Panamanians fall prey to these shortcomings so I’ll keep the focus on my fellow man; having said that, it’s pretty safe to say that a lot [...]
So, Yamile and I throw a lot of ideas around. A LOT. Hell, a lot of the smaller movements coming down the pipe are products of very wonderful lunches we’ve had together. In light of the impending Valetine’s Day rituals, the lovely geek cooked up a site and I wrote up how many of us [...]