The centennial
of our separation from Colombia is history. The long weekend ---
extra-long for a lot of working people --- had its
ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies and moments of pride and
shame. Now, bearing in mind the points that were intentionally
or unintentionally emphasized over the holidays, this
demographically young country is looking forward, pondering the
sorts of institutions that we will have when this girl reaches
voting age.
Just looking at who came here to partake of the centennial
celebration has also been instructive for Panama's English-
speaking community, tourism industry and, quite frankly, The
Panama News. We have known all along that our reputation at
"the gringo paper" --- or the former gringo paper
that no longer exists if you want to listen to our more
pathetic and less ethical competitors in the advertising biz ---
wasn't accurate. Sure, a lot of Americans, both inside and
outside of Panama, log onto this website with loyal regularity.
More than ever before, it seems. However, over the
holidays a number of people whom I didn't know told me that
they always read The Panama News and none of them fit the
stereotype of what one of our readers, or for that matter an
American, is supposed to be. Some were Americans, people of
Afro-Antillean roots who emigrated, became US citizens and came
back to visit the isthmus that still holds an honored place in
their hearts. The West Indian community came back by the
chartered planeload. There were the US-educated Panamanians I
encountered at the Teatro En Circulo when I went to see
"El Veredicto." There was the Chinese-Panamanian
businessman at the Rubén Blades concert. There was the young woman
from Los Santos, who reads The Panama News to improve her
English and her job prospects.
I am
disappointed that we didn't have more Zonians coming down to
visit.
The bottom
line? Both this country and this newspaper know who our friends
and customers are, and ought to recognize and honor them and
build upon that base.
The Panama News
also has a better idea of its best friends as the results come
in from the fundraising appeals of our past couple of issues. I
thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. I will persevere,
and I hope that I don't disappoint you.
Of course,
there are so many worthy causes and so few resources. People
here realize that. Two of the groups shown herein that got the
most cheers at the Flag Day parade through the Casco Viejo were the Muchachas Guias, whose headquarters building needs a new
roof, and the Special Olympics, who worked long and hard to
send a group of athletes to Ireland a few months back. Another
group, not pictured in this issue but wildly applauded at the
parade, was the 20/30 Club, which is gearing up for its annual
telethon on behalf of sick and disabled children. In the weeks
before the holidays I received several email requests about
which causes visitors should support to best help their old
hometowns, and I found it hard to point in one direction in
particular. I did, however, warn people about giving money to
the present government.
I really didn't
need to warn most of the people who asked, however. The
Mireyistas let everyone know the score, as in Mireya putting her portrait and boast on the lottery
tickets, showing up hours late for official centennial
events, making the ribbon cutting at an unfinished Colombian-
owned shopping mall an official event and trying to keep
Rubén Blades from performing. Her pathetic government
and justice minister acted even worse, and a tragic incident at a baseball game highlighted just how
inept this regime is at the fundamentals of public safety.
But people came
here in their tens of thousands not because of Mireya and her
entourage, but in spite of them. Despite all hijack attempts,
this was the people's celebration.
The party, and
the mood of national reflection, continue. Theater season is in
full swing, with some especially thoughtful and worthy works at
the English-language Theatre Guild of Ancon and Spanish-language Teatro En
Circulo. Even New Yorkers are celebrating Panamanian culture. And it
isn't even dry season --- the peak time for tourism --- yet.
Because there
were three weeks between the last issue and this one, and
because these were eventful weeks, we have a larger than usual
issue for you this time. As usual, we report the good, the bad
and the ugly. I hope that you will get that sense of
perspective that lets you take all of this into account and
know that Panama is beautiful. Enjoy.
