Nationwide Tour Movistar Panama Championship 2006

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.

Over 1,000 international tour operators and travel industry suppliers from Latin America are expected to attend the 30th Annual TravelMart Latin America, scheduled September 13-15, 2006 at Panama City’s Atlapa Convention Center.

First held in 1978, the event is produced and managed by William H. Coleman, Inc., an international management firm based in Jacksonville, Florida, with offices in Toronto and London.

The Visitor wishes you a very Happy New Year!

Get ready to celebrate! Visitors have a good variety of party options to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, ranging from quiet, elegant dinners to lively fiestas with some of the best bands in town.

Hotel Caesar Park has two options on New Years’ Eve: a grand dinner from 6:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at Café Bahía ($21.95, adults and $10.95 for children, plus tax) or a dance fiesta and seafood buffet where whistle-blowing, singing and dancing is de rigueur, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Restaurante Monsoon ($25.00 per person, plus tax.) Guests of the Caesar Park can also enjoy the evening dancing and singing along with the "Quality Ensemble" at the Lobby Bar.

Activities continue the following evening (Jan. 1) with a dinner/dance party featuring the Contrapunto Orchestra, where each guest will receive a bottle of champagne ($80.00 per person, plus tax.) For details and reservations, call 270-0477.

At the Miramar Intercontinental Hotel, on Avenida Balboa, activities will be no less varied. A murga (a Panamanian ensemble normally associated with the country’s famous pre-Lenten Carnivals) will make everybody dance at the hotel’s Grand Ballroom, where guests will also enjoy fireworks and lots of food and drink. At midnight, party-goers will have a bowl of sancocho (Panamanian-style chicken stew) –an excellent remedy to prevent the "mañana syndrome". ($99.00, plus tax). Call: 214-1000.

An excellent place to discover Panama’s culture is at Mi Pueblito tourist complex, located at the foot of Ancón Hill, on Avenida de Los Mártires (4th of July) Avenue.

Folklore troupes of various age groups take to the stage every weekend, between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Mi Pueblito is a replica of three, early 20th-century Panamanian towns, each of which honors one of Panama’s main cultures: Hispanic, African and Native American. It features handicraft shops, restaurants and small museums.

One of the highlights of the upcoming "Summer" season in Panama is the International Jazz Festival, January 19-21 at Atlapa Convention Center. Organized by Panama City’s Mayoralty, the event will include performances and workshops by renowned musicians from the U.S., Latin America and Europe.

Panamanian Jazz star Danilo Pérez, one of the main promo-ters of the festival.

Festival offers folklore, color and tradition:

A folklore parade.

One of the most colorful celebrations of the Epiphany in Panama is observed in the town of Macaracas, in the province of Los Santos, which commemorates the coming of the Magi to Bethlehem with parades (locally known as tunas), public dances, folklore performances and weddings. The festival will take place January 3-8.

Held since 1820, Macaracas’ Epiphany celebrations are a family affair with many traditions, one of which takes place on January 6 when the entire town parades a local couple to their wedding (the bride wears a traditional, white Pollera –the country’s national attire for women). Another tradition of this week-long festival is the Junta de Embarre, in which the town’s men gather to build a traditional, country-style adobe dwelling for an underprivileged family. The most picturesque scene of this tradition is that a horizontal formation of the men, arm-to-arm, who march back and forth on a mixture of mud and hay to prepare the adobe. The women spend the entire day cooking for the workers.

The pinnacle of the celebrations take place at 7:00 p.m. on January 6, when the entire community attends a play de picting the arrival of the Magi. Activities finish with a colorful, old-fashion parade though town on January 8.

Macaracas is a five-hour drive from Panama City. Drivers will need to get on the Pan-American Highway and travel west to the town of Divisa (213km) and make a left turn, after which they will need to take the road leading to Las Minas. There is also a bus service to Macaracas and other towns of the Azuero peninsula, departing from Albrook’s Gran Terminal de Transporte.

Don’t miss its grand fair:

The long parade of regional festivals that spans Panama’s dry season (January-April) will make a stop in Ocú, province of Herrera this month for the town’s grand International Fair, scheduled to take place Jan. 19-23.

Ocú will honor its fame of being one of the most folklore-oriented towns in the republic with a plethora of vivid presentations by local dance troupes. These dance groups, which are made up in some cases by professional dancers and in others by elementary-school children, will give visitors an overview of the main rhythms of each part of the country.

In addition to pop and folklore music concerts, public dances and games, the fair will also feature agricultural and farming exhibits.

The town of Ocú is located in western Herrera and it’s approximately a one-and-a-half hour’s drive from Chitré, the provincial capital, which boasts the best lodging facilities of the region, including Hotel Hong Kong (996-4483), Hotel Versalles (996-4422) and Hotel Rex (996-4310) and Hotel Los Guayacanes (996-9758).

Iván Arrocha, Deputy Mayor of Panama City, and Dr. Hugo Murgado, the city’s Social Activities Manager during the official aannouncement of the program.

Juan Carlos Navarro, Mayor of Panama City, has launched a series of musical and artistic events has been planned for Panamanians and visitors during the dry season, extending from January to mid-April.

The last Sunday of each month, Avenida Balboa, which runs along the bayfront, will be transformed into a family entertainment center, for concerts, folklore dance performances, theater presentations, games and sports activities.

The program, entitled "Goza tu Ciudad en el Verano 2006" ("Enjoy your Summer in the City 2006") also calls for a series of band concerts in various parts of the city, the first of which starts on Sunday, January 8 at Parque Santa Ana, in the city’s Old Quarter.

Later on in the season (March 29-April 4), the Mayor’s office will host the second annual "Scenic Arts Festival", in which Panamanian and international artists will transform run-down areas of town into temporary works of art.

The program entails musical activities and folklore performances throughout Panama City.

It is also the "Land of Eternal Spring".

Make plans. Boquete’s International Flower and Coffee Fair, the largest event of its kind in Central America, starts on January 13.

Millions of roses, petunias, daisies and other specimens from around the planet are shipped to Boquete every year to create beautiful displays and floats. Coffee lovers also enjoy sampling the grain variety produced in the Chiriquí highlands, as well as imports from major international producers.

Known as Panama’s “Land of Eternal Spring”, Boquete enjoys cool weather year round. Nevertheless, the town seems to be changing its image of a tranquil retreat community to become a center of eco-tourist adventures, including white water river rafting and rock climbing. Yet, the area’s forests continue to attract bird watchers, who look for species such as the rare, Resplandescent Quetzal.

The town of Boquete is considered Panama’s flower capital.

The event is the second of a long list of colorful country festivals which take place between the months of December and May, taking advantage of the season’s fair weather. Other recommended, upcoming fairs include the San Sebastian de Ocú Fair (early January) and David International Fair (March).

Boquete is a six and-a-half hour drive from Panama City and about 30 minutes from David, the provincial capital. To get there, visitors can either travel by rented car from Panama City or fly to the provincial capital of David, where car rentals are also available (Flights to Chiriquí depart from Marcos A. Gelabert Airport). Another way is traveling by bus to David, and making the corresponding connection to Boquete (Buses depart from the National Bus Terminal, also located in Albrook .

There are hotels and cabins in Volcán, Cerro Punta and Guadalupe. Excellent accomodations can also be found in David. Being one of the highest points in the republic, Boquete is sweater and jacket country.