Public concerts in El Valle and Panama City:

The Old Panama ruins are a popular venue for outdoor concerts during the dry season.

The Old Panama Visitors' Center will host a series of outdoor concerts featuring some of the best concert bands of the metropolitan area. Performances will take place on February 4, February 25, and March 4 and 18 from 5:30 p.m to 7:00 p.m.

The list of participating bands includes the Moisés Castillo High School Band, the Panama Fire Department Band and the Band of the National Police Department.

The Visitors' Center is adjacent to the ruins of Old Panama –the remnants of the first European settlement of the Pacific coast of the New World. It was sacked by Henry Morgan in 1671. One of Panama's most recognizable landmarks, the ruins were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (along with the city's San Felipe district) in 1997 and has gone through a series of restoration works in recent years. During the dry season (January-April) the site is a popular venue for outdoor concerts, folklore performances and weddings.

A dancing devil in Portobelo. Photo. Yolande Vicente.

The town of Portobelo, on the Caribbean coast, will host its annual "Devil and Congo Festival" on March 3. Held since 1999, the festival is a tribute to two deeply-rooted cultural traditions of the Costa Arriba region.

"Congo culture" is an African-accented subgenre of Panamanian folklore, in which dancers recreate the mockery of their enslaved ancestors against Spanish colonial rule. Devils –an element introduced by Roman Catholicism-- participate in colorful choreographies along with the Congo queen, king and their "pajaritos" (children).

Congo culture is strong in the entire Costa Arriba (Upper Coast) region of the province of Colón, with Portobelo being the strongest bastion of the tradition.

Located 100 km northeast of Panama City, Portobelo is a sleepy coastal community that was once the center of commerce in the Western Hemisphere during the colonial period. It has a number of old forts and castles which once protected it from the attack of pirates. Its deep harbor is one of Panama's best diving destinations.

More information on the fair in our coming issues.

Outdoor concerts and folklore dances at the Administration Building'

A Folklore Dance Troupe at the Canal's Administration Building.

The Panama Canal Authority invites visitors to its 'Summer Music Program' -a series of performances at the steps of the Panama Canal Administration Building, in Balboa. Performances will take place until February 9 at 7:30 p.m. and admittance is free.

The program will include a musical show by Panamanian composer Dino Nugent, concerts by local ballad singers Solinka and Juliette Roy, folklore music performances (Osvaldo Ayala, Yin Carrizo, Ceferino Nieto and Alfredo Escudero) and a grand concert by Panama's National Symphony Orchestra.

For more information, call tel.: 272-3521, or send an e-mail to: atroitino@pancanal.com

Panama City's Veneto Hotel & Casino recently held a party to raise the Carnival Flag, a tradition which signals the beginning of the period of celebrations leading to Panama's famous four-day pre-Lenten fiesta. Present at the party were the queen of Panama City's 2007 Carnival, Kathia Real, her princesses, Irelys de león and Yureika González, and promiment Panamanian celebrities, including international boxing champion, Roberto Durán.

Hotel Veneto is located in the heart of the city's financial district, a few steps from Vía España.

From left to right: Irelys de León, Kathia Real (Reina del Carnaval capitalino 2007), Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Durán y Yureika González.

The latest products and fashion for babies and expecting parents will be displayed at Feria del Bebé 2007, which will take place at Atlapa Convention Center Feb. 1-2. The fair will also include lectures by prominent international pediatricians and ob-gyn specialists. For more information, call Atlapa 526-7000.

Cayuco racing season starts Jan. 27

Club de Remos de Balboa also sponsors the Ocean-to-Ocean Cayuco Race, an event unique to Panama.

The 54th annual cayuco racing season will start with the Balboa Yacht Club Cup, Jan. 27

Considered a tune-up competition for the Ocean-to-Ocean Cayuco Regata in late March, the race will feature teams of four: male, female and co-ed, which will start at the Balboa Yacht Club and then paddle for four kilometers up around flamenco Island and back along the causeway.

The race is organized by Club de Remos de Balboa (CREBA), which took over the responsibility of preparing the annual cayuco season in 1999, when the Boy Scouts of America ceased to do so (a direct consequence of the departure of the U.S. Military from Panama.) Cayucos are dug-out canoes, usually fashioned out of a single tree, that traditionally have been used by the indigenous indians of Panama as their main form of transportation. Recognizing the historical and ecological significance of these simple but utilitarian boats, the Boy Scouts of America, back in 1954, under the leadership of Wes Townsend, organized the preparation and racing of these primitive crafts into a merit badge activity, which grew in popularity.

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