Chinese New Year brings
two-day party to ATLAPA

By Jacob Ehrler

This 18-meter dragon performed at the Beijing Summer
Olympics and will soon delight audiences at the
Chinese Fair in ATLAPA.

The Chinese New Year will be celebrated for two days at ATLAPA Convention Center. It is open to the public and admission is free. “We want to share our celebration with everyone in Panama,” said Chinese Panamanian Association representative Sergio Lay. Two performance troupes are coming from China for the event and one of them performed at the Beijing Summer Olympics. Fireworks, traditional Chinese music, food from all over the world and lots of fun are in store.

On Sunday, January 25 the doors to the fair will open at noon. At 6:00 p.m. the inauguration will feature both performance troupes. One is the Wen Che pipe jumpers. They jump to and from tiny platforms on top of pipes many meters off the ground. This group holds the Guiness world record for the longest distance jumped from one set of pipes to another: 3.8 meters. The talented members of this group are descendants of the Yang Generals. They dress as lions in colorful costumes. One jumper is the front legs and the other jumper is the back legs.

The next big event will take place on Monday, January 26 at noon (when it is midnight in China, the true Chinese New Year), when the two groups will perform together again. The second group is made up of 25 members who bring an 18-meter dragon to life. This dragon team performed in the opening ceremony for the ‘08 Olympics. It is an honor, especially for the Chinese community, to have them as guests and and performers for the fair considering that the opening ceremony is the most highly regarded event of the Olympics.

Throughout the rest of the fair, the performers will be making presentations. The other activities include a fashion show, traditional Chinese dancing, violin presentations, karaoke, piano recitals, Chines opera and a much-awaited traditional Chinese concerto.

Performers will leap great distances in
tandem at great heights.

The Chinese Panamanian beauty queen, who also won the Central American Chinese pageant, will be making special presentations throughout the even. Also, six national “tipico” dance troops will perform, including the folkloric dance group from La Prensa daily newspaper.

Some 65 vendors and service providers will be showcasing their products and services at booths and selling at very reasonable prices. There will be 18 different stands selling food from all over the world.

A thirty-minute non-stop fireworks show will close out the celebration. The fireworks are brought directly from China and the organizers promise to put on an unforgettable show for spectators. This show will take place from 9:30 p.m. on Monday, January 25 until the fair ends at 10:00 p.m. Brochures will be available at the entrance with a schedule of the events for both days so visitors can plan their time once they arrive.