In addition to socializing, Panamanians also enjoy leisure activities such as hiking, surfing and fishing. The country has an impressive natural landscape, with mountains, beaches and rainforests that are perfect for outdoor recreation. The Panama Canal is also a popular destination for boat trips and cruises. I decided to include what Panamanians do during their free time because family is an important part of it.
When I interviewed the teacher I worked with at the Pan-American Institute in Bethlehem. He told me that most professionals leave work and return home to their families for dinner during the week. It's common for weekends to be filled with lots of activities, such as going to the mall, spending the day at the beach, playing in the park with the kids, and not doing any work. I think it's a great idea not to bring work home on the weekends because it's a quality time to spend with friends and loved ones. Another IPA professor said that most of our weekends are spent traveling to visit family and friends outside of Panama City.
Celebrations within each town are another common monthly activity. I would like to compare it to neighborhood parties where everyone cooks a meal and gets together to talk about life and how things are going. Julio, the teacher with whom I went to La Isla Grande, said that these celebrations are a time for his children to meet new friends and socialize. Free time in Panama is spent relaxing, doing household chores, and spending time with family and friends. Other activities include going to national parks, shopping at the mall, and playing sports.
During my shopping adventures in Panama, I have seen many women sew and make beautiful garments and tablecloths. This is common among women, especially indigenous women of the Kuna tribe. There are many places in Panama where you can see evidence of their deep Spanish roots. The Azuero Peninsula, known as the “cradle of folklore”, is perhaps the most popular.
For major national celebrations and festivals, there's no better place. During the carnival season, locals and tourists flock in droves. The traditional dances are set with typical music, characterized by Tyrolean songs, accordions and small guitars called marjorans. More than 700 festivals are held in Panama every year, so no matter when you visit, you should be able to find one.
If you attend a carnival celebration, you'll hear people say they celebrate the pagan god Momo during carnival, which may surprise you because Panama is a predominantly Catholic country. Respect for personal connections is perhaps the most well-known trait in Panama, particularly in business. And then there are a lot of Afro-Panamanians who are descendants of people who came here to work on the Panama Canal project from places like Barbados and Jamaica. Make sure you don't be too picky when it comes to general eating etiquette, as upper-class Panamanians have impeccable manners.
And what the Panamanian government did for its large groups of indigenous peoples was to reserve land for them. The viceroy moved his headquarters from Quito (now in Ecuador) to Panama City, where he sent deputies to the Cortes (parliament) of Cádiz (Spain) during the Napoleonic Wars. Panama has numerous attractive beaches, and divers enjoy its coastal waters (especially around the Pearl and Coiba Islands) and the Panama Canal, which contains wreckage of sunken ships and discarded equipment used in the construction of the waterway. The Guna own what may be one of the most spectacular real estate properties in Panama, as many of them have their homes on the Caribbean islands of Guna Yala, which look like jewels.
Today, international residents, visitors, businesses and culture continue to influence Panamanian life. In 1519, the population of Santa María moved to the new city of Panama (the first European settlement on the western coast of the hemisphere), which became the center of commercial activity and the springboard for the conquest of Peru. Even when Panama has been under a democratic civil government, its press has had less freedom than in most Latin American countries, because its defamation laws have effectively protected prominent figures from severe criticism. Apart from the indigenous arts and oral traditions of Panama, few artistic achievements occurred in the region before independence in 1903. Jess Ramesch is constantly traveling, in the air and on the water, exploring Panama and the rest of the world.
Many politicians have sued Panamanian journalists, and a Peruvian journalist was threatened with expelling her in the late 1990s; however, soon after Mireya Moscoso Rodríguez took office in 1999, stricter defamation laws were repealed. La Prensa, Crítica Libre, El Panama Américan and other important newspapers are published in Panama City.
