Nationwide Tour Movistar Panama Championship 2006

Some of the holes at Club de Golf de Panamá are considered the most difficult in the region.

For the third consecutive year, Panama will host the "Movistar Panama Champion-ship" –one of the most important tournaments of the Nationwide Tour south of the Rio Grande. A group of directors from the PTA recently visited Panama to supervise the final arrangements for the event, which will take place January 26-29 2006 at Club de Golf de Panama. The event, which will be broadcast by prestigious international cable TV channels, has attracted 132 players.

Nelly Healy, General Manager of the club, told The Visitor that one of the reasons the PGA chose Club de Golf de Panama was the level of difficulty of the course, which features two of the toughest holes of the entire tour. The year the tournament was held for the first time in Panama, 2004, 26 former PGA players declared the club "The Field of the Year".

Many current international golf stars have played in the Panama tournament, such as Jimmy Walker, the winner of the 2004 tourney, who was chosen "Player of the Year" and joined the PGA tour along with 19 other players. The list also includes Vance Veazy, winner of the 2005 version, Colombian-born Camilo Villegas, and Jason Gore, who after ranking 44th in Panama, classified for the U.S. open and became the leader of three rounds. He has won three times this year at the Nationwide tournament, including the 84 Lumber Pensylvannia Classic ($792,000), thus becoming the first player to win the PGA Tour after playing in Panama.

"We are sure that another group of future stars will surprise us all at next year’s tournament", said Healy.

The total prize of the Movistar Panama Champion-ship 2006 amounts to $55,000.00 –the largest in Latin America.

Surrounded by the forest-clad mountains of Chagres National Park, Club de Golf de Panama is located northeast of Panama City, off the road leading to Tocumen International Airport.

The Mixturas Ensemble.

A special Christmas event is in store in the Chiriquí mountain town of Boquete on Saturday, December 17, when the "Mixturas" chamber ensemble joins forces with a number of musical groups of the area, including the choir of the expat community of Boquete. Organizers are calling it the greatest musical event west of the Panama Canal this year.

"We are al excited. We only hope there is enough room at San Juan Bautista Church, which has capacity for 500 people", said Estela Isabel Ponce Uribe, director of Mixturas.

Some of the season’s most traditional melodies, such as "Silent Night" and "It came upon a midnight clear" will be part of the repertoire, which will be sung in English and Spanish, the first language of which has become Boquete’s lingua franca in recent years due to the growing number of North American and European retirees that have moved there.

Mixturas is made up by four professional musicians, most of whom are members of Panama’s National Symphony Orchestra. They are: Osvaldo Vergara (bass); Iván Navarro (bassoon); Liliana Rodríguez (flute), and Estela Isabel Ponce Uribe (vibraphone). Indira Rodríguez, one of Panama’s most outstanding sopranos, will be the ensemble’s guest singer at the Boquete concert.

Founded in 2003, Mixturas is an avant-garde ensemble which offers a varied mixture of musical textures and accustic instruments, ranging from classical string and wind instruments to South American and Panamanian percusion instruments.

Admittance to the event is: $2.00 , $5.00 , $10.00. For more information, call: 65931130, 226-5390.

Tommy Torres, one of the Telethon's international performers.

A list of famous, but yet-to-be-announced international stars will join local celebrities in raising thousands of dollars for this year’s 20-30 Telethon, scheduled December 16-17 at Atlapa Convention Center.

First held in 1981, the Telethon has become a regular part of Panama's December calendar. Its goal this year is to raise funds for a number of drug prevention, and cancer treatment programs (the Telethon has traditionally supported programs for the handicapped). The "symbol child" of the 2005 Telethon is Milagro Estela García de Paredes, a healthy five-year-old girl whose mother became the first cancer patient to give birth at Panama's National Cancer Hospital.

For more information, log on to the Telethon's web site: www.teleton.com

Visitors in Panama City can enjoy a good variety of entertainment and dining options this holiday season.

On Christmas Day, Hotel Miramar Intercontinental offers a Brunch at its Bay View Restaurant ($25.00 per person, plus tax) including champagne, wines, spirits and soft drinks. Those preferring to celebrate outdoors can enjoy the BBQ party at the hotel’s Las Olas Pool Bar, for $14.50 per person, plus tax. Hotel Miramar is located on Avenida Balboa. Call 214-1000.

The Miramar’s sister hotel, Gamboa Rainforest Resort, welcomes guests to its Christmas Buffet on Christmas Eve, either at the Chagres River View Restaurant ($35.00 per person, plus tax) or at Restaurante Corotú ($18.00, plus tax). Located in the midst of the green forests surrounding the Panama Canal, on Gatun Lake, Gamboa Rainforest Resort is an exclusive facility designed for eco-tourists and water sports enthusiasts. Call: 314-9000.

Back in Panama City, the Caesar Park Hotel will host a Christmas Eve Dinner, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ($21.95, plus tax), as well as a Christmas Brunch ($10.95-$21.95, plus tax) from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For reservations, call 270-0477.

Christmas tree on Avenida Balboa.

With regional fairs:

The trade winds and the "sun-and-beach mania" that take over Panama after the Christmas holidays, are followed by country fairs across the nation.Whereas some have gained international status, most of these fairs still retain the old, Hispanic traditions for which the Panamanian hinterland, locally known as "el interior", is known.

The first major regional fair of 2006, the Boquete Coffee and Flower Fair (Jan. 13-22) has become a major tourist attraction, attracting visitors in search of the rarest specimens of petunias, orchids, roses, lilies and many other species of all shapes, colors and sizes. The fair features flowers from countries such as France, the United States and South America. Coffee –an excellent beverage for Boquete's chilly evenings-- is also "king" during the fair, offering the best, export-quality beans and flavors at colorful stands throughout the fair grounds.

Well-known performers of tipico (Panamanian music) compete with international rock, pop and reggae stars at this and other festivals, such as the La Chorrera Fair (Jan 25-Feb 5), the Candelaria Fair in Bugaba, Chiriquí (Jan. 27-Feb.5) and the Veraguas Fair, in Soná (Feb. 15-20).

Country fairs are a mixture of innovation and deeply-rooted traditions.

Although authentic Panamanian folklore is a fundamental part of every festival during this season, two are specially recommended for their high quality of activities: the San Sebastián de Ocú Fair, in the province of Herrera (Jan. 19-23), and the Azuero International Fair, which closes the season April 20-May 1.

Most festivals take place in the "central provinces", the region encompassing the area west of the Canal and east of the Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro provinces, but the province of Colón also offers its Caribbean-accented fair during the upcoming season (March 29-April 8).

Regional festivals in Panama offer something for everyone: games, horserides, folklore performances, boat tours, food sampling, handicrafts. The list is endless.

The city of Penonomé, the provincial capital of Coclé, will have its Christmas parade on Christmas day. Penonomé, a quaint town combining country charms and modern amenities, is 150 km. west of Panama City.