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AMIGOS in Panama

17 min. readlast update: 11.08.2023

History of AMIGOS in Panama 

AMIGOS originally worked in Panama from 1981 to 1987. In 1987, the U.S. Marines invaded Panama and ousted the Panamanian president, Manuel Noriega. When this occurred, AMIGOS suspended its projects in Panama. We returned to the country in 2004, when we opened a project in the provinces of Veraguas and Coclé. AMIGOS worked in Cocle for 16 consecutive years, the last 13 of which was in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, until we had to once again suspend our projects in Panama due to the COVID-19 pandemic.    

In this time, we have been able to impact the lives of hundreds of volunteers, community members, and forge ties with various government and social organizations. Throughout the years we have had projects in the Azuero Peninsula, the Kuna Yala Region, Coclé, Veraguas, and Chiriquí provinces. 

Due to the pandemic, AMIGOS suspended its programs in Panama for two years. In 2022, we resumed operations and reestablished our partnerships in the country with two projects. This year we are thrilled to have three projects in Panama and to keep expanding our work with partner agencies and communities.   

We believe that Panama is a country with a lot to offer to volunteers. AMIGOS, together with our partner agencies, can create a positive impact in the communities that host us. 

COUNTRY OVERVIEW  

PRE-COLONIAL, COLONIAL & POST-COLONIAL HISTORY  

The earliest evidence of humans in South America dates back to 12,500 years ago.  Spearheads found in Panama date back to around 11,000 years ago, making them the first solid evidence of humans in the country. 

In pre-Columbian times Panama was too far south for Mayan and Aztec influence from the north, and the thick jungles of the Darien gap prevented much influence by the Andean civilizations to the south. 

The indigenous peoples that the Spanish encountered lived in small villages or survived as hunter gatherers and fishermen. In fact, the name “Panama” itself comes from an old indigenous word meaning “abundance of fish.” 

Despite the lack of influence from the larger pre-Columbian civilizations, Panama’s indigenous peoples were not fully-isolated. The region then, as now, was still part of a great Pan-American trading route. Gold, ornaments, and pottery have been found from all over the Americas in Panama. 

The first European to arrive in Panama was the explorer and conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas. He first arrived in the New World with Columbus on his second voyage. Upon returning home from that expedition, Bastidas received permission to launch his own expedition. He set sail in 1499. 

The following year, Columbus himself reached Panama. He set foot in Bocas del Toro, where the bay and a local town, Almirante, are still named after him. Columbus followed the coast along the top of Panama to what is now known as Portobelo, which he named himself. 

A few years later, in 1510, the Spanish arrived back in the area. They founded a settlement called Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien, which is now in modern-day Colombia. Santa Maria was the first European settlement on the American mainland and a base for all future exploration. It took a further 6 years for the Spanish to begin colonizing the Pacific side of Panama. 

In 1519 Pedro Arias Davila arrived in Santa Maria on the orders of the Crown to govern the area. His first act was to abandon the settlement and move across the isthmus to the Pacific. There, he founded a settlement called Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Panamá, now known as Panama City. The importance of Panama City in the Spanish conquest of the Americas cannot be overstated. 

A Pacific base for the Spanish ensured not only the conquest of Central America but also that of the Inca Empire in Peru. 

Once the Spanish had firm possession of the Americas, Panama was able to transform into what it is today. A transit point for people traveling from one part of the world to another. 

Panama City was also the point where a lot of plundered treasure from the conquest of the Incas ended up before being shipped to Spain. As a result, the settlement became a town, and the town became a rich city. 

The Panama City that Davila founded lies about three miles east of present-day Panama City. The English pirate Henry Morgan burned Davila’s original city to the ground in 1671. Attacks by pirates were an occupational hazard of being a wealthy city that transported gold in the 17th century. 

The 1800s brought independence to most of Latin America as the Spanish Empire crumbled. 

On November 10, 1821 a letter was written to Simón Bolívar, who was a Venezuelan soldier and statesman who played a central role in the South American independence movement, he led the independence from the Spanish Mornarchy of Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Bolivia. The letter was written by the residents of La Villa de Los Santos, a small town on the Azuero Peninsula, this letter is known as the Primer Grito de la Independencia (First Cry for Independence) and is celebrated as a national holiday in Panama. A few weeks later, on November 28, Panama broke from Spain and joined Colombia in a union known as Gran Colombia that included Venezuela and Ecuador. November 28 is celebrated today in Panama as Independence Day.  

The interest in a canal through Central America was growing. Panama – the narrowest spot in all of Central America – was an obvious option. In 1846 the U.S. negotiated a treaty with Colombia that gave the U.S. transit rights through Panama. In turn, the U.S. promised to protect Colombian sovereignty over Panama, which was important, since the British had recently gained a foothold in Central America with their capture of the Nicaraguan town of San Juan del Norte. Ratified by congress in 1848, the Bidlack-Mallarino Treaty thus allowed the U.S. to intervene militarily in Panama to protect financial or human interests. This treaty was a significant first step in the long and tumultuous 150-year relationship between Panama and the U.S. 

Panama was a part of Colombia until 1902. During the previous 80 years, a secessionist movement on the isthmus had gained traction. By 1902, Colombia had been in the grip of a civil war spanning over two years, and Panama had had enough. 

The United States, had decided to build a transcontinental canal through Panama, despite a failed attempt to do by the French in the 1880s. In fact, it was this French attempt, that prompted Theodore Roosevelt to negotiate with Colombia for the rights to continue France’s work. 

These negotiations failed as Colombia rejected American advances for a deal. This prompted the US to support Panama achieve its independence from Colombia as a means to secure the rights to build the canal. 

The US government gave the Panamanian pro-independence movement a boost when they implied that they would give military support to Panama if it broke away from Colombia. On November 3rd, 1903, Panama declared independence with US protection. In return, the new republic gave the US control of what was to become the Panama Canal Zone. 

Work started on the Panama Canal shortly afterward, and it was complete by 1914. The Panama Canal was considered by many the greatest single engineering feat in history. The Panama Canal Zone was in effect, a part of the US inside Panama. It stretched alongside the length of the canal for five miles either side, only excluding Panama City and Colon on each entrance. Residents of the Canal Zone worked for the military or for the canal administration. 

In the meantime, Panamanians found themselves on the outside looking in. They saw a canal that divided their country in two and for which they received none of the profits. 

In 1964, the situation reached a boiling point when 27 students died during a protest against the US presence in Panama. This led to a crackdown by the Panamanian military which in turn led to the rise of the populist dictator, Omar Torrijos. 

Torrijos was instrumental in working with Jimmy Carter in the 1970s to work out a deal where Panama would one day take over the control of the Canal. The Torrijos-Carter Treaty guaranteed that the Canal and the Canal Zone would pass to Panamanian control by the end of 1999. It also guaranteed that all US troops would leave the country. 

Since January 1st, 2000, Panama has been in full control of its own destiny for the first time since independence. 

Source: https://www.centralamerica.com/panama/history/ and https://www.britannica.com/place/Panama/Government-and-society  

GOVERNMENT  

Panama has a popularly elected, representative system of government with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Universal suffrage was instituted in 1907, and Panamanians 18 years of age and older are eligible to vote. 

After a coup by the National Guard in 1968, the national legislature was suspended, and Panama was administered by a provisional government led by Gen. Omar Torrijos. A new constitution in 1972, the fourth in Panama’s history, gave Torrijos virtually complete control over the government but also established an elected body, the National Assembly of Municipal Representatives. The constitution was amended in 1978 to provide for a gradual return to democratic government within six years. Further constitutional amendments were approved in 1983, but democracy did not return to Panama until 1990, following the removal of Torrijos’s successor, Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega Morena following a US military invasion. 

Under the constitutional revision of 1983, executive power is exercised by the president, who is popularly elected for a nonrenewable five-year term. The president was assisted by two vice presidents—also popularly elected for nonrenewable five-year terms—until 2009, when the second vice presidential position was eliminated. The president appoints a cabinet. A unicameral National Assembly consists of 71 members, who are elected for five-year terms and are eligible for reelection. The assembly initiates legislation, rules on international treaties, approves the budget, and establishes political divisions. After the 2014 election nearly one-fifth of the seats were held by women.  

The country is divided into 10 provincias – Panama, Los Santos, Veraguas, Chiriquí, Coclé, Colón, Herrera, Darien, West Panama and Bocas del Toro – and three comarcas (indigenous sectors)—Kuna Yala (San Blas), Emberá (Emberá-Wounaan), and Ngöbe Buglé (Guaymí). The provincias are divided into distritos municipales (municipal districts), which are subdivided into corregimientos (magistracies). The head of each provincia is the governor, appointed by the president. The comarcas are semiautonomous reserves governed by tribal leaders (caciques), but their status under the law has been disputed. 

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Panama/Government-and-society  

ECONOMY  

The official Panamanian currency is the balboa, though this is both pegged to and interchangeable with the United States Dollar. As such, upon entry into Panama, dollars do not need to be exchanged for balboas as they as both currencies are universally accepted in the country.  

Panama’s dollar-based economy depends on a sizable services sector that accounts for nearly three-quarters of its GDP. This is in stark contrast to other Central American countries that largely depend on agriculture. The services sector includes the operation of the Panama Canal, the Colón Free Zone, international banking, container ports, ship registry, and tourism. Agriculture accounts for less than 7 percent of the Panamanian GDP; the country’s main exports are bananas, coffee, sugarcane, shrimp, and rice. Panama’s largest trading partner is the United States.  

Panama has one of the fastest growing economies in the Americas. In 2012 its GDP hit $34.82 billion, with a growth rate of 8.5 percent. For the last several years, it has posted GDP growth greater than 7 percent and sometimes above 10 percent. This economic growth is due in large part to a boom in construction, much of which is aimed at foreigners who come to retire, do business, or travel. On a larger scale, an expansion of the Panama Canal, that was inaugurated in 2016, has further bolstered the economy. This expansion more than doubled the canal’s capacity by allowing larger ships to traverse the canal. Panama City also built its first metro line in 2014 and it is currently building two more lines. This healthy economy has also cut the unemployment rate, which in 2020 was 18.5% and in 2022 was reduced to 9.9 percent. 

This strong economy has not, however, reached all members of Panamanian society. Panama has the third worst income distribution in Latin America. Many of these people (most noticeably the indigenous groups) get by on less than US $1 a day.  

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Panama/Settlement-patterns#ref41006 and https://es.statista.com/estadisticas/1267584/latinoamerica-coeficiente-gini-desigualdad-de-ingresos-por-pais/#:~:text=Durante%202021%2C%20Colombia%20se%20posicion%C3%B3,a%20los%2049%2C5%20puntos.  

GEOGRAPHY  

Panama is the narrowest, southernmost, and easternmost country in Central America. It shares borders with Costa Rica (to the west) and Colombia (to the east) and has a total coastline that stretches over 2,850 km (1,771 mi). Small by some standards, Panama covers 75,520 square kilometers (29,160 sq. mi) – larger than Ireland but smaller than South Carolina. Its unique S-shape makes the narrowest point only 50 km (31 mi) wide, but coincidentally, this is not found at the Panama Canal, which runs some 80 km (50 mi). 

Panama has two mountain ranges that run down its center in both the east and west. These ranges from the continental divide, separating the Pacific slopes from the Caribbean. This divide is not part of the larger mountain chains in North America, but there are highlands near the Colombian border that are related to the Andean Mountain system in South America. The larger of Panama’s mountain ranges is the Cordillera Central in the western half of the country. This is where Panama’s highest peak and only volcano – Volcán Barú – is located. Although dormant, this volcano measures an impressive 3,475 meters (11,400 ft.) tall. 

Aside from the mountains and hills, Panama has expansive plains and flat coastal lowlands. There are 480 rivers that cross Panama, most of which start as streams in the highlands, flow across plains, and empty into coastal deltas. Two of these, the Río Chepo and Río Charges, are used for water storage and hydroelectric power. 

There are 1,518 islands near Panama’s shores. The two main groups – the Bocas del Toro archipelago and Guna Yala archipelago – are found along the Caribbean coast, although most of the other islands are scattered along the Pacific side. 

Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Panama#ref40995  

FOOD  

One of the aspects of culture that is most important is food and one of the best ways to truly experience local culture when you travel is to try the food. Nearly every culture has its own food, and its own customs associated with eating food. Panama City has been a UNESCO Creative City in Gastronomy since 2017 

Panama is a melting pot of sorts, with a population that is made up of indigenous peoples, Afro-Panamanians, and people from all over the world. This diversity is reflected in Panama’s food culture, which has been influenced by Spanish, African, Chinese, and North American cuisine, among others. Panama’s gastronomy is also unique in that it uses fresh local ingredients to create dishes that are both healthy and delicious. 

Rice, beans, and corn are basic staples, and good use is made of seafood and tropical fruits and vegetables. Arroz con pollo and sancocho, two chicken dishes, are considered national favorites.  Also widespread are Panamanian versions of the ceviche, tamales, and empanadas found throughout Latin America.  

Panamanian food is often quite flavorful, thanks to the use of fresh chili peppers, cumin, oregano, culantro and other spices. The most common type of chili pepper used in Panama cuisine is the aji chombo, which is also known as the “little hot pepper”. Though it is uncommon to eat very spicy food in Panama, there are common condiments to add spiciness to food should someone want it that way. Hot sauce using aji chombo peppers is the most common and can be found tableside in almost any Panamanian house. 

Source: https://www.tourismpanama.com/things-to-do/gastronomy-and-cuisine/  

TRADITIONS  

Some of the most popular traditions and customs of the area are closely related to the history of its land and people, among the most important are: 

Carnival: The Carnival is one of the most anticipated events for all Panamanian and it is held over a four-day period before Ash Wednesday and ends with the Entierro de la Sardina (‘Burial of the Sardine’). Carnival is celebrated across the country but the most common place to celebrate is Las Tablas. One of the ongoing traditions is when water tanks drive along the streets and spray water all over the people. This popular tradition is called the "mojaderas" or "culecos". The Carnival is the perfect excuse to get together with friends and toast life. 

Easter: Is one of the most celebrated moments in Panama as processions are held by almost every community to commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. There are many types of interpretations of the stations of the Cross but some of the most memorable processions are =the ones of Bocas del Toro. Many villages in the islands have no roads so they do aquatic processions. In Panama, during this time, it is common to eat Bon bread -made of candied fruits with a touch of cinnamon and vanilla-, the Yaniqueque -a coco milk bread- and to drink hot chocolate.  

Azuero International Fair: From late April to early May, the International Fair of Azuero is celebrated. La Villa de los Santos is the town that hosts this event. Part of the fair is focused on livestock but is also the scene of traditional dances and music of Panamanian artists. A tradition during the fair is that the Cavalcade of Villa de los Santos appears, where one can see some Panama’s traditional dress and dances. 

Mejorana’s Festival: In late September, the Mejorana’s Festival is one of Panama’s most popular and it is celebrated in Guararé. It is among the most important folks displays of the country, where a beauty queen is chosen, La Reina (the Queen), and typical parades of Panama and Guararé are performed along with musical or artistic competitions. It is an opportunity for the Panamanian people to show their most ancestral traditions. 

Source: https://www.embassyofpanama.org/culture  

COUNTRY SPECIFIC SLANG  

Every country has its own set of idioms, mannerisms and phrases. There are even language differences from one community to the next. No need to worry though; your Spanish will serve you very well this summer and will allow you to communicate with community members. Below is a list of regional vocabulary that you should learn.   

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RESOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION  

Books

  • Panama’s Poor: Victims, Agents, and Historymakers by Gloria Rudolf 
  • Stories, Myths, Chants, and Songs of the Kuna Indians by Joel Sherzer and Olokwagdi de Akwanusadup 
  • America's Prisoner: The Memoirs of Manuel Noriega by Noriega 
  • Silver and Gold: Untold Stories of Immigrant Life in the Panama Canal Zone by Emmanuel Evers Airall 
  • In Defiance: The Battle Against General Noriega Fought from Panama's Embassy by Juan B. Sosa 
  • How Wall Street Created a Nation: J.P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt, and the Panama Canal by Ovidio Diaz Espino 

Music

Movies

Websites

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