La Chorrera and Churruquita:

The series of country fairs taking place throughout the dry season (January-April) continues this month with one of the biggest festivals of the year, La Chorrera International Fair (January 25-February 5.)

Ten beauty queens will preside over the fair’s long series of activities, which include concerts (pop, reggae, rock and Panamanian "Tipico"), folklore performances, bloodless bullfighting and rodeos, parades, dog shows, agricultural exhibits from Central and South America, games...the list goes on and on.

Handicraft exhibit.

Long considered a "dormitory", satellite suburb of Panama City, La Chorrera is developing a character of its own. Located 30 km. west of the capital, it is the largest city of the western sector of the province of Panama. Combining country ambiances and a fast-growing city life, La Chorrera has seen tremendous growth in recent years, attracting both Panamanian and foreign new residents as well. A good service of buses links Panama City and La Chorrera, departing from Gran Terminal de Transporte, located in Albrook.

Another town holding its annual festival this week (Jan. 26-29) is the tiny community of Churruquita Grande, in the mountains of the province of Coclé, where dozens of dance troupes from all regions of Panama participate in the Orange Fair –a tribute to one of the most important crops of that region. Churruquita is located less than an hour’s drive from the provincial capital of Penonomé, which is 150 km west of Panama City via the Pan-American Highway.