President Torrijos launched plan to modernize the Panama Canal
Martin Torrijos, President of Panama, formally announced the government’s intention to modernize the 92-year-old Panama Canal during a ceremony held at Panama City’s Atlapa Convention Center in late April.

The plan presented by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) entails the construction of a third set of locks –a project expected to cost over 5.2 billion dollars.

The announcement, which attracted the attention of the world’s media, was delivered in presence of Torrijos’ cabinet, the Board of Directors of the Canal and Alberto Alemán Zubieta, the administrator of the ACP.

"My desire is for future generations to acknowledge our ability to take advantage of this historic moment," said Torrijos.

Torrijos stated that the project’s cost will be shared by the users of the waterway (through rate increases) and assured the project would not entail the relocation of the small farming communities of the Canal’s basin nor the construction of additional lakes that would cause further environmental damage.

The son of General Omar Torrijos (who back in 1977 signed the treaties that would transfer the Canal from U.S. to Panamanian hands in the year 2000,) stated that the expansion plan is the result of over six years of in-depth studies and research.

It will take approximately 11 years to modernize the Canal.

Approximately 120 studies were conducted before the formal launching of the plan, all of which are enclosed in over 55,000 pages. However, Torrijos underlined that the final decision will be the sole responsibility of the Panamanian people through a referendum.

President Torrijos cited the extraordinary growth of international commerce, current trends in cargo movements through the waterway and the construction of larger ships (presenting larger dimensions than those allowed by the existing locks) as the major reasons for the expansion of the Canal.

"If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity now, other routes will soon appear to compete with ours," said Torrijos.

The Canal’s modernization project will take between 7 and 11 years to complete and it is expected to be the largest project conducted on Panamanian soil since the construction of the waterway over one hundred years ago.

According to recent polls, 70% of Panamanians approve the Canal’s expansion. Isthmians will be summoned to the polls for a nation-wide referendum on the project towards the end of the year.

Los Quetzales Lodge & Spa in Guadalupe, Chiriquí, Panama’s highest hotel and one of the most remote, is a hotspot for wireless internet reception, surprising guests who take their laptops on birding and ecological expeditions. The hotel, which also offers cabins deep in the cloud forest, is located in La Amistad International Park.

Panama, with a population of 3.1 million, has some 300,000 Internet users, which equals a penetration of 9.6%, according to a study by Global Mind. This places us in position number 10, among 21 countries of Latin America.

Book Review

The Louvre Museum of Paris recently included the book as part of its collection.

When Panama City's National Theater appeared on the landscape of the San Felipe colonial district almost a century ago, it was considered a little architectural marvel, not only by the native residents of the tiny capital (which back then counted no more than 10,000 souls) but by many a foreigner as well. We are almost certain that for the hundreds of Italians living in Panama at that time –part of the international work force brought to build the Panama Canal-- the National Theater was perhaps one of the few reminders of home in this distant, tropical land.

But, what is this little jewel –which resembles some of the most important Italian opera houses of the time-- doing in the tropics? This is one of the questions U.S. restoration expert and author Anton Rajer III answers in the book, "Paris in Panama", which will be formally presented May 9, at the Contemporary Art Museum at 7:00 p.m.

The frescoes of Roberto Lewis
As its title suggests, the focus of the book is not necessarily the Neo-Classic style of the building –the imprint of Italian architect Genaro Ruggieri, but the free-spirited frescoes and murals painted in France by Roberto Lewis, the most renowned Panamanian painter of the early 20th century, who created the "soul" of the building by decorating its interior.

Partial view of Roberto Lewis work on the ceiling of National Theater.

Searching for cultural guidance
In "Paris in Panama", Rajer explains that when construction of the National Theater started in 1907, only four years after independece from Colombia, the fledging Republic of Panama was in search of an identity and a philosophy of life. Not wanting to emulate cultural patterns from the north –an emerging giant still not considered a cultural power at the time-- Panama's founding Fathers decided to look across the Atlantic for guidance. Besides "discovering" the Neo-Classic style, which evokes ancient Greece, the birth place of democracy, they also felt the need to import the strong republican and liberal ideals of France.

Engaged in the construction of public buildings reflecting these ideals, the Panamanian government commissioned Roberto Lewis, a young, long-time Panamanian resident of Paris, to work on a series of frescoes destined to adorn the rotunda of the National Theater. Lewis returned to Panama to supervise the instalment of his works just in time for the Theater's inauguration on October 1, 1908.

Details of the reforestation process
In the book's 11 chapters, Rajer, who directed the restoration of Lewis' works beween 2001-2003, delves into the mindset and life of the Panamanian artist and explores the cultural and artistic trends of the time. It is the result of over 12 years of research, featuring various well-documented sources from France, Spain, Italy, the United States and Panama. The work later goes on to explain the technical and scientific aspects of the restoration process, which ended just in time for the celebration of Panama's centennial anniversary as an independent republic in 2003.

"Paris in Panama" is a bilingual publication (Spanish/ English).

It is profusely illustrated with historic and modern photographs. The author will be available for a book signing session at the Contemporary Art Museum on May 9.

For more information, call 264-8729/262

The author...

Anton (Tony) William Rajer III, holds a degree in History of Art from the University of Wisconsin. He is a Certified Restoration Master from the University of Harvard and has done post-graduate work in Restoration Materials at the University of London and at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, in addition to other titles and distinctions.

Rajer was an invited observer of the restoration of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel (1986). In 1992, he won an international bid to restore the murals of the Panama Canal Administration Building and also restored Roberto Lewis' frescoes at Panama's Presidential Palace, the Palace of Government and the National Theater (1996-2004).

The author of five books and over 70 articles, Rajer has conducted restoration projects in Portugal, England, Bolivia, France, Italy, Argentina, Venezuela, Malaysia, Mexico and India.

Home Geckos

Hemidactylus frenatus is found in virtually every Panamanian home.

It doesn’t matter if you live in the cottages and villas of Altos del Maria or in a brand new apartment in Punta Pacifica, a small, welcome committee will be already installed in your new quarters to greet you. We are talking about home geckos.

Nobody knows for sure when these cute, tan-colored reptiles arrived on the Isthmus. Some say they came from Africa in the mid-1980’s, while others say they arrived on a ship from Asia. The truth is that these little creatures, the scientific name of which is Hemidactylus frenatus, are here to stay, slowly displacing the native domestic lizard species that once lived in Panama City gardens.

Home geckos are completely harmless, although there are plenty of myths about them. The only "freaky" thing they will do if you try to catch them is leave their tails behind in order to confuse you, Home geckos are nocturnal animals. You’ll hear them making a high-pitched "kissing" sound in the evenings. They are found sporadically around on the ceilings and walls of your quarters, although never in groups. With a diet of insects, home geckos have earned a solid reputation throughout Panama as "limpiacasas" –"house cleaners".

Jim & Dot Jones.

Dot and Jim Jones, of Wales, are enjoying the trip of a lifetime. Panama is the most recent stop of their "Tour of the World", which has taken them to 34 countries in three continents. They started their journey in early 1999 on board a custom-made campervan.

For more information: www.beady.com/roundtheworld

The regatta is a tradition that dates back to 1954.

Panama’s Ocean-to-Ocean Cayuco Regatta, the world’s only inter-oceanic paddling competition, is becoming an international event. A total of nine foreign crews from Argentina, England, France and the United States competed against 76 Panamanian teams in a race which made its way from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Panama Canal between the 7th and 9th of April.

One foreign team, "SNAFU", from Tampa, Florida, won the Masculine Division of the Open Category (See other winners in the chart below.)

The Ocean-to-Ocean Cayuco Regatta was first held in 1954. It is the brainchild of Frank Townsend, a U.S. employee of the Panama Canal Company who back in those days took a troop of the Boy Scouts of America to a Native American community of the Chagres River basin where the boys were able to learn about the ancestral art of navigating cayucos, canoe-like vessels which are the principal means of transportation in many jungle regions throughout the Isthmus.

The idea of a cayuco regatta through the Panama Canal was well received by the U.S. civilian and military personnel stationed in the former Canal Zone. As years passed, Panamanian teams became involved in this annual event, in which paddlers are lowered and raised through the Continental Divide via the Canal’s system of locks.

After the transfer of the Canal from U.S. to Panamanian hands in 2000, the Balboa Paddle Club took over the responsibility of organizing the event, thus filling the void left by the departure of the Boy Scouts of America. The Cayuco Regatta is part of a number of activities planned by the Balboa Paddle Club throughout the year in the Panama Canal area, including, the Amador Causeway Regatta, the Melia Panama Canal Regatta, and the Gamboa Regatta.

For more information, log on to www.cayucorace.com