No other
country in Central America exhibits such a visible and integrated
black population than Panama.
According
to history books, the first Africans that arrived on the Isthmus were
among the crew members of Spanish conquistadors such as Colombus,
Bastidas and Balboa, although many anthropologists believe a black
population was already present on the Isthmus prior to the discovery
of the Americas by Europe.
Thousands
of slaves arrived via the Caribbean ports of Portobelo and Nombre
de Dios, many of whom escaped to the mountains to create communities
of cimarrones. They slowly began to mix with Europeans and Native
Americans and became one of the country’s three main ethnic
groups as they introduced many elements of Panama’s folklore.
A new influx
of blacks, this time free laborers from the West Indies, arrived between
the late 19th and early 20th centuries to take part in the construction
of the Panama Railroad and the Panama Canal.
Visitors
will have the chance to indulge in all the color, mystery and liveliness
of Panama’s Afro culture during Festival de la Etnia Negra
–an ethnic extravaganza of music, folklore and cuisine, on
Sunday, May 8, at the Paradise Banquet Hall in Galerías Obarrio,
on Vía España.
