THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2007 was a year of growth and progress

It was a year of growth and progress in Panama, probably unprecedented in the country's history. In the world spotlight because of the vast Canal expansion plan and the real estate boom, Panama began attracting investors large and small in increasing numbers.

Mega projects of urban and residential development, energy and many other fields were announced almost weekly.

There was a downside. Prices rose in every category from serious hikes in real estate right down to the price of a pint of milk. And of course gas prices went up and up throughout the year. The only consolation could be that higher cost of living was not a Panama phenomenon, but worldwide.

The historic event of the year was the launch of works for a "New Canal", a set of locks with their respective channels wide enough to accommodate the "post panamax" ships too big to transit the existing locks. The $5.25 billion scheme was inaugurated with a ceremony on September 3 and a big explosion which blew a hole in a hill at the side of Gaillard Cut to commence the dry excavation phase.

From their new location on Avenida Samuel Lewis, The Panama Tourism Bureau (IPAT) reported 1.4 million visitors entered the country throughout the year. Estimates state that 56% were on vacation, 31% exploring business and the rest visiting family or in town for conferences. Visas for foreign visitors were cut from 90 to 30 days, in a government effort to claim more control over the increasing number of visitors.

IPAT minister Ruben Blades proposed a Tourism Master Plan to guide the development of the industry through the year 2020 and hired Spanish Europraxis Consulting to carry out studies and compile recommendations which will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2008.

More direct flights to Panama were announced by COPA, Delta and KLM among others. Royal Caribbean Cruise line began operations in Colon, their new home port, bringing 2000 tourists per week through Panama during the cruise season.

Hotels barely had enough room to house all the visitors, reporting record occupancy numbers. First rate hotels turned away guests on some occasions because they were overbooked. Several projects to build luxury hotels in the city and Casco Antiguo, Panama City's old quarter, began.

Indigenous tribes like the Ngöbe Buglé began capitalizing on the tourism industry, designing tour products to bring curious tourists in for a look into their unique worlds, creating employment opportunities within their tribes.

Although "zero corruption" was a key promise of President Martin Torrijos' election campaign, corruption plagued the headlines. Across many sectors like maritime, education, the police force and the judicial system, cases of stealing and bribery cast an unfavorable light. U.S. Ambassador William Eaton repeatedly spoke out about the problem, especially at the judicial level. He was criticized by high Panamanian officials including President Torrijos for speaking out. He however maintained that the problem was a key issue for his embassy.

The Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. was not signed and postponed until 2008. A key issue was the election of the Panamanian legislative body president, who has charges in the U.S. for the alleged murder of a U.S. military man in 1992. Panama dropped the charges against him here years ago. U.S. Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton clarified that this was an issue of concern before signing the trade treaty.

The doctors working in the public Social Security health care facilities carried out a record 39 day strike, eventually getting a 25% raise and returning to work in a system that many speculate is under threat of privatization.

Construction continued on the trans-isthmian superhighway to connect Panama City with Colon, promising to cut travel time down to just over 40 minutes. It should be open in early 2008. Work began on the "Cinta Costera" project, reconstructing the face of Balboa Avenue in Panama City.

A February oil spill in the Chiriqui Grande Lagoon in the Atlantic by Petroterminales de Panama (PTP) incited lawsuits ending in over $2 million in judgments against the company.

Government, labor unions and the business sector worked out a minimum wage increase in the end of the year, bringing relief to many families who were feeling the pressures of the increasing cost of living in Panama. Salary increases will be a minimum of $25 to $40 a month.

Watch out for those end-of-year muñecos

Panamanian boxing legend
Roberto Durán.

The old year.

One of the most quaint symbols of the end-of-year in Panama are the muñecos -life-size dolls depicting the most outstanding personalities of the old year (sports figures, beauty queens, politicians, etc.)

Made with hay, old clothes, and sometimes, plastic and wood, the muñecos have a very short life span. Representing the year that is about to end, they are burned up at midnight, December 31.

The best muñecos are found along the Pan-American Highway on the way to the interior provinces, especially between the towns of San Carlos and Chame.

A review of the technology

The revolution in hearing aids

Significant advances have been made for the hearing-impaired in recent years. There is no longer any need for a person who is hard of hearing to miss out on precious moments with their family, jokes at movies or an important message. Gone are the days of the big clumsy whistling devices. Hearing aids today are almost invisible, digitally enhanced and produce the clarity of a CD.

Quality sound reproduction is not compromised because of size either. With advanced electronic design and digital technology, today's hearing aids are able to eliminate background noise and enhance speech by smoothly, automatically adjusting the sound. The smallest hearing aids are about the size of a coffee bean and are specially molded to fit the user's ear canal.

Three different kinds of hearing aids exist.
Behind-the-ear models feed sound into the ear by way of a plastic tube into an ear mold. These are especially good for persons with extreme hearing loss. The fittings and settings are personally adjusted to provide the clearest direct sound, while eliminating background noises.

In-the-ear aids are made of only one part, a custom made shell containing the electronics that fits perfectly in the ear. Most in-the-ear models adjust automatically but some have manual controls on the outside of the device so the user can make adjustments using a small lever or wheel.

Completely-in-canal hearing aids are set deeply within the ear canal, almost invisible in the ear. They contain all the technology of the previous models and additionally provide more natural acoustics because the natural contour of the ear is still able to capture sound. These models also make it easiest to talk on the telephone, avoid wind noise and determine what direction sounds are coming from.

Both behind-the-ear and in-the-ear models that contain a telecoil are compatible with a new hearing technology. Public venues like cinemas, theaters, churches and meetings are often equipped with an induction loop system. By switching over to the telecoil option, the user can hear sound directly transmitted from the source. In meetings, conferences and classrooms speakers use a special FM radio to transmit directly to a behind-the-ear model.

Visit Widex Panama on Calle Manuel Maria Icaza building #7 in the Banking District or call 209-2969 for your hearing aid needs.

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An ordinary couple with an extraordinary story put Panama in the headlines

The naughty Darwins pose with the
realtor who sold them their Panama
City apartment. This picture was
circulated worldwide.

The scandalously famous "Canoe Couple", Anne and John Darwin have returned to their cold, dreary climate to face charges, and they have unwittingly left a spotlight pointed on their chosen country of exile. Their story of fraud, flight and frolic brought Panama to the top of international headlines for days.

And as the press beat this doleful story to death, Panama emerged attractive and accessible. In her tell-all interview published in Britain's Sunday Daily Mirror, linked on TIME.com, Anne explained that her husband John faked his death to escape their mounting debt, collect life insurance and leave England.

She said: "John was forever looking at new things and new places on the Internet... We had looked at the possibility of moving to so many different countries but there was always an issue - climate or language." He had substantial free time to shop around, while hiding in his own home in the North of England. He even risked travel in Europe to check out Cyprus, but the winner when they cashed in and split was Panama.

Anne told readers: "We had been in touch with a relocation company and they arranged for us to stay with a host family in Panama City... We paid $97,000 for the flat. It was a two-bedroom apartment, already furnished... I did enjoy Panama... it was lovely and I had a great time."

Across the wires, journalists fed back descriptions of this "wisp of land", "dotted with red and yellow fishing boats" that soaks up "300 days of sun a year." Priceless.

One of the strange things about this case is that an insurance scam barely teetering over $300,000 could attract such heavy media attention. Perhaps the appeal lies in just how ordinary the Darwins were. If they had run off with millions and millions of dollars, many readers would not identify, and not pay much heed to where they went with their dirty loot. But with a few hundred thousand they were sailing away to paradise.

This hot December story broke as winter set in up north. Surely the images of an affordable Panamanian paradise will penetrate the brains of some tabloid-readers before springtime comes around. Let's hope that the visitors inspired to come on down can stay for a bit longer than the Darwins did.

The Cabalgata en Volcán

Horsing around in the highlands

The parade rides through town led by flag bearer Paul Berard.

There are city dwellers who show off their wealth and status by driving around town in the latest edition SUV. The people of the Chiriqui highlands also love to put on a show, but for their choice of transportation ostentation, they prefer the four-legged to the four wheeled. In Volcan they love their horses. Some locals I am told, have paid up to $10,000 for their very own piece of equine elegance.

Visitors to this highland town can enjoy horse displays throughout the year. (the locals love to show them off any chance they get) The Cabalgata is one such show, timed to co-incide with the year-end national independence celebrations. The Camara de Turismo de Tierra Altas, invited me to see the parade. Camara president, Anabella Rios de Esquivel, told me it had been celebrated in Volcan for the past 25 years. Up to five hundred local horse men and horse women, decked out in their finest parade gear, trot, gallop or saunter down the main street of Volcan, to the appreciative applause of thousands of locals and tourists.

The parade started at 4.30 p.m. and wound its way to the center of town. Pausing in front of the temporary parade stand set up in front of the police post, Paul Berard, the standard bearer (El abanderado) sat astride a magnificent, paso-fino pinto. Proudly carrying the standard, he led his merry bunch of horse people through the town. Paul is one of Volcan’s leading businessmen and the main supporter of the Chiriqui horse parades. His family roots are in the mountains of Switzerland, where he spent his first eight years growing up in that European mountain wonderland.

The parade atmosphere was heightened with the inclusion of three musical bands – conveniently transported in the back of pick up trucks. Anabella and I hitched a ride with local mariachi group "Mariachi Cielo Bugabeño". Pausing at the parade stand the band launched into a spirited version of Cielito Lindo. Paul Berard dismounted and, walking onstage, accepted the acclaim of the gathered crowd.

As the parade went by at a trot, many riders paused to accept donations of cerveza, but this did little to slow the parade down and within ten minutes all the horses had passed the parade stand. I felt a little disappointed the parade had ended so soon. Ah! but little did I realize the horses had gone around the block and were coming back toward the center for a second time.

A light drizzle brought a spectacular rainbow.

The evening sun was setting and a light drizzle brought out a spectacular rainbow, arching high over the center of town. The mariachis had now been replaced by a small jazz band. The music was supplemented by several rockets firing into the air.

In a later interview with Paul Berard, I asked what was the attraction in owning and displaying a horse. Paul thought for a moment and then said. "It’s cultural, everyone here, as soon as they can walk, wants to ride a horse."

Blacksmiths needed urgently
I asked if there was something that was needed to help these parades continue. Paul admitted there is a shortage of trained farriers or "herrero’s. Paul told me, "The shoes on a horse need to be custom fitted just like the shoes on a human being."

With the parade over, the crowds strolled happily home. The streets were soon deserted except for a few discarded banners, some beer bottles, and about 200 pounds or so of prime, organic, rose food. Now I realize why Volcan has such an abundance of beautiful flowers. Another reason to thank the Cabalgata horse parade.

Record a single while you go shopping

Have you ever thought of being a star? Are you a frustrated composer? Or perhaps you would like to know how your voice will sound in a professional studio. Musica @ la Carte will allow you to make those fantasies into reality with their recording booth at Albrook Mall.

The procedure is simple: choose your favorite song, get inside the booth and sing. The operator will record you, do the mixing, master the material and will give you a CD or DVD of a professional quality.

The company has two packages: one for $9.00 per song including the mastering. The other costs $18 and guarantees corrections. If you prefer, you can rent the booth for $60 per hour.

The "Recording Booth" is a professional recording studio with the latest technology. It can accommodate a musician with his instrument or up to three people. If you wish to use more than one instrument, the company has a large studio.

Música @ la carte also offers the services of two composers, who can put music to your lyrics. It has an ample and varied catalogue of accompaniment tracks in English and Spanish.

The Recording Booth is located in Albrook Mall, central aisle, close to the Giraffes’ corridor, in front of CD Place. Opening hours are from Monday to Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00p.m.

This Volcano blew with a vengeance but left a beautiful legacy

Cerro Picacho overlooks the residential development of Altos del María.

Much of the geography of the area West of Panama City which is now becoming popular with foreign retirees and new residents and where new resorts are springing up, was created by a "big bang" some 3 million years ago.

This was the last time the El Valle Volcano blew its top forming a crater 5 km (3.1 miles) across, one of the largest in the Americas, and which is now the pleasant resort town of El Valle de Anton.

El Valle is described as a lava dome complex and comprises Cerro Pajita, Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral, whose peaks range from 1185 to 3888 meters high.

Whatever was then living in what is now Panama City and the Canal when the volcano erupted must have been quite shaken up by the event as the huge boulders scattered around the country suggest.

The crater subsequently filled with water forming a huge lake, but about 12,000 years ago a breach at the present site of the waterfall Chorro de las Mozas caused it to drain, forming the present valley.

The Pan American highway takes a great curve around the base of this volcano from Chame past the beach resorts of Coronado to Santa Clara and on to Anton and Penonome. The peaks can be seen from the highway.

Hotel Los Mandarinos, with its Tuscan architecture,
is among the small hotels which grace El Valle de Antón.

Similarly to Volcan Baru and La Yeguada, the El Valle volcano created some of what are today popular and cool highland retreats.

Visitors can easily explore many of these areas by rent-a-car or on the many buses that operate to the western areas of Panama from the Grand Terminal at Albrook.

After passing the town of Capira, and descending the winding highway down Cerro Campana to the flat lands below, the El Valle peaks can be seen to the right of the Pan American Highway with the beach resorts to the left.

Resort homes dot the verdant hillsides
round the crater at Altos del María.

There are many signs that, even though the El Valle volcano may have been dormant for millions of years, things may still be bubbling underground. According to local hill climbers there are some sulphur vents in the hills.

On the left when passing the turnoff to Punta Chame, is a dominant hill known as "La India Dormida" because of the outline of a sleeping Indian girl seen when traveling east towards Panama City.

Only a few hundred yards further is a turnoff to the right in the town of Bejuco that leads to Sora, at an elevation of about 2,000 feet.

On the way there, passing the small town of Llano Grande, there are hot springs on the left in an area known as El Salado (pronounced by the locals as "El Salao"). Reaching them requires a good hike from the highway on a rough track and permission from the farmer, on whose cow paddocks they are located. It is said that many years ago, before the Pan American Highway was built, Panama City residents traveled there on horseback to bathe because there was a belief that the springs had healing properties. The hot springs have also been the source of thermal energy studies.

Continuing on the main road to Sora, 18 kilometers from the Pan American highway, several new housing developments can be found. At the entry to the town in Soralpina, another area is under development on a predominant peak to the west. Several hundred feet and several kilometers above Sora is Altos del Maria, an extensive development on different levels. One area created by the El Valle volcano is at the same altitude as Boquete, on the side of Chiriqui’s Volcan Baru.

This perspective view taken from a NASA space shuttle shows central Panama, with the remnants of the extinct volcano El Valle in the foreground and the Caribbean Sea in the distance. Within the crater is the town of El Valle de Anton, whose 600-meter (1,968-foot) elevation and resulting cooler climate make it a popular tourist and vacation site. The lake in the distance is Lake Gatun, at the west end of the Panama Canal. The canal itself extends to the southwest (to the right in this northeast facing view) but is hidden by the intervening terrain. This shaded relief perspective view was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). A computer-generated artificial light source illuminates the elevation data to produce a pattern of light and shadows. Slopes facing the light appear bright, while those facing away are shaded. On flatter surfaces, the pattern of light and shadows can reveal subtle features in the terrain. Colors show the elevation as measured by SRTM, and range from green at the lowest elevations to white at the highest elevations.

Further along the main Pan American Highway, just before reaching the beach resort of Playa Coronado, is a turnoff to the right to the town of Las Lajas. At the end of this road is La Laguna, where a small lake exists that is the remains of the huge lake that once filled the El Valle volcano. It is close to Altos del Maria, but there is no connecting road.

Back on the main highway and soon after San Carlos is the road leading up to the town of El Valle de Anton, in the cone of the old volcano itself. There are some hot springs here, too, plus some trembling earth and a wide selection of hotels, guest houses and small restaurants. Sunday morning is market day in the town when the local people come in from the surrounding hills with all kinds of interesting merchandise, curiosities and handcrafts.

Further around the base of the volcano on the Pan American Highway, passing the town of Anton, is Penonome, a large town which is considered the center of the Panama hat worn by the Panamanian country folk of today.

Panama woos multinationals with sweet incentives

By Steven Rich, Marketing Manager for Panama Offshore Legal Services

The last issue of The Visitor contained an article about Panama’s new Law 41 providing multinational companies with incentives to establish their global or regional headquarters here.

Since then, I have gotten several e-mails and phone calls asking whether small companies qualify for the special immigration visas and tax reductions. Let me clear up some of the misconceptions. Law 41 is not for little companies or start-up businesses.

This is a law specifically for a "Multinational" company. The term "Multinational" means a company which has branches, offices, or subsidiaries in many countries. For example, Dell computers is a multinational company already in Panama employing 2,000 workers. Dell has its corporate headquarters in the United States with branches in several countries. Small, local, one-store companies do not qualify.

Australia has similar law
Hewlett-Packard and Caterpillar are just two of the "Multinational" companies taking advantage of this new law by relocating a large part of their Latin American business to Panama as regional headquarters. Australia has a similar law establishing immigration and income tax incentives for opening regional headquarters.

The income tax exemption applies to work done for customers outside of Panama, which is similar to the famous Panama "Call Center" law that allows for income tax free proceeds generated through sales to customers outside of Panama.

This law also provides faster immigration visas for foreign "key" employees in "management" positions.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry recently published regulations for obtaining a Multinational Business License and the Special Immigration Visas for key employees. There will be a new Multinational Company Site Licensing Commission and a new Secretary overseeing the fast processing of immigration visas for key employees.

A summary
Let me summarize the procedures a multinational company must comply with in order to be recognized in Panama under the new Law 41.

They must file the headquarters’ Articles of Incorporation with the Public Registry as a foreign corporation doing business in Panama, then submit audited financial statements of the parent corporation. They must also provide bank reference letters and commercial reference letters from customers of the parent corporation. The licensing commission will review these documents to determine how multinational the parent company really is.

Once the multinational company is licensed, key employees can begin to apply for their special immigration visas. Visa applicants must file several documents to qualify. Verification of job title and executive duties are required. Medical certificate of good health and proof of hospital medical insurance coverage assures the government that you are healthy and can pay for major illnesses.

Dependants
A police record from where the applicant resided the past two years is required, plus a bank reference letter and location of the Panama bank receiving salary payments. A copy of the marriage certificate (if married) must be filled, and copies of dependents' birth certificates, plus verification from certified schools where dependents will enroll. A letter must be filled from the applicant accepting full financial responsibility for all dependents who will not qualify for work permits in Panama.

The corporate headquarters (or nearest branch to Panama) will file an original letter with corporate logo stating that the applicant will perform executive duties, including his/her salary and a copy of the employment contract.

Once these documents are filed, the immigration visa will be fast-tracked for quick approval.

Panama should gain a big advantage from this new law if large and truly multinational companies can be persuaded to choose Panama as their regional headquarters for Central or Latin America. This means more jobs and greater economic growth for Panama.

The Kuna — the people of Panama’s Caribbean coast

Their challenge - how to address the realities of the 21st century

By Howard V. Walker

Photo: Andrés Villa

They are among the relatively few remaining indigenous groups in the world who have managed to keep their traditional culture virtually intact. In number, they are the second largest of Panama’s seven ethnically distinct native peoples. They speak Dulegaya (people’s language). Arms and legs beaded, in colourful mola dress and with feminine grace, their women can be seen on any city street. Flashes of red and gold arrest the eye.

They are the KUNA.
It is believed that they moved up into mainland areas of what is now Panama from northern Colombia in the 18th century in order to escape the Spaniards, or because of conflict with local tribes. The Kuna’s second migration, this time to the islands of Kuna Yala, also known as San Blas, began at the turn of the twentieth century. There they could fulfil their desire for territorial sovereignty. But this was not to be any easy task.

Geographically on the fringes of the Republic of Panama, Kuna Yala borders the province of Colon to the North West and Colombia to the south east. It combines island and mainland territory. Only 46 of the 365 islands in the archipelago are inhabited but these contain most of the population, and imme- diately attracted the attention of the newly born (1903) Republic of Panama which wished to bring them into the fold. The Kuna, however, desired to be left alone.

For decades up to 1925, there was a consistent attempt, including presidential visits, by Panama to exert its authority and to eradicate Kuna traditions. Oppression by police and administrators insensitively imposed Panamanian rules. Women were not allowed to wear their native mola dress, or beaded arm and leg bands. Gold nose and ear rings were forcibly removed. Traditional cere- monies, such as those for young girls’ puberty rites were outlawed. The graceful Kuna dance, they said, must be replaced by their dance.

Understandably, although Kuna are a peaceful people, tolerance was stretched to the limit. Such provocative actions resulted in the eruption of popular sentiment in the revolution of 1925.

The settlement which followed, aided by the USA as a supportive intermediary for the Kuna, has sown the seeds for nearly a century of peaceful co-existence but not without its tensions, of course. The autonomous status of the Kuna was established in 1930, but the comarca of Kuna Yala consists of three corregimientos each of which is represented by a deputy in Panama’s legislature.

The richly blessed, palm island chain of Kuna Yala with its bounty of marine life, coconuts and other natural resources has been an attraction in the eyes of many wagas (Panamanians), mergi (North Americans) and others for centuries. The challenge today is how the local sahilas (chiefs) can address the realities of the 21st.century, with the inevitable interventions of global technology and communication, yet still preserve the distinctive identity of their communities.

In the year 2007, increasingly, visitors continue to be drawn by the peace and great beauty of Kuna Yala’s coral island reefs. And if they listen, as the waves lap the shores, they may also hear the voices of Nele Kantule of Ustupu or Simral Colman of Ailigandi, famed leaders from the days of the rebellion, and others before and after who are now part of the unique history of Kuna Yala.