the intricacies of a
colorful Carnival feud in Las Tablas
If anyone
were to conduct a survey among Panamanians asking them where they
plan to spend Carnival, probably 5 out of 10 would answer "in
Las Tablas".
Allowing
for the people who would give this answer because of the caché
implied, but who do not go, this amounts to a lot of people converging
on a tiny town all at once.
For
the last couple of decades, going to Las Tablas for Carnival has
become fashionable and in some instances, a sign of "status"
among local party lovers, who save large amounts of money during
the year to spend during the four days of Carnival.
Two
features attract people in their thousands to this otherwise sleepy
town during this time of the year: the Spanish-influenced folklore
traditions of the Azuero peninsula, and a colorful little town "feud"
between Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo –"Upper" and
"Lower" streets.
The
earliest references to Carnival in Las Tablas date back to the 18th
century, when two colonial towns, La Ermita de la Santa Cruz and
Calidonia, existed in the area. Exhibiting the religious fervor
of the times, both towns started competing for the organization
of the patron saint festivals of Santa Cruz and Santa Librada –the
patron saint of the province of los Santos.
The way
in which residents of both towns faced each other down was to mock
the opponent in song and poetry with their "tunas" (bands)
–something which church authorities considered profane. They
banned the participation of tunas in religious ceremonies, but the
practice continued and was transferred to the European pre-Lenten
Carnival, when the rigid moral norms of the time were relaxed.
As time
passed, both bands established their headquarters in the neighborhoods
of "La Placita" (Calle Arriba) and "Punta Fogón"
(Calle Abajo) in Las Tablas. The feud in song and poetry continued,
this time also including a competition to draw the attention of
the most beautiful women in town. However, it wasn't until circa
1950 when the first queens of both bands were elected.
Both
Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo are now large organizations including
choreographers, costume specialists and public relations officers
–with the sole purpose of competing against each other during
Carnival. Las Tablas is a small town and members of a single family
are often on opposite sides when it comes to the Carnival confrontation.
The Calle
Arriba and Calle Abajo feud is simply a folklore expression and
although the lyrics of the mocking songs can be rather crude, there
is no violence nor extremism during the festival.
Las
Tablas is a four-hour drive from Panama City. To get there, drivers
need to get on the Pan American Highway and drive west to the town
of Divisa (215 km), turning left and driving 67 km to Las Tablas.
A service of modern buses links Panama City and Las Tablas, departing
from the Albrook bus terminal. Daily, scheduled flights to nearby
Chitré (province of Herrera) depart from Marcos A. Gelabert
Airport, also located in Albrook.
The
queen of the 2007 Carnival in Panama City is Kathia Real,
a 21 year-old brunette from the neighborhood of Curundu. This
brown-eyed tropical belle, 5'5" loves to read, listen
to music and go to the movies. A speech pathology student,
Kathia also loves pasta and spends her free time in Boquete,
El Valle and Colón.
