Welcome to Digital Portobelo: Art + Scholarship + Cultural Preservation!

Para explorar la versión española, visítenos en Portobelo Digital

Digital Portobelo is an interactive online collection of ethnographic interviews, photos, documentaries, short videos, artwork, and archival material illuminating the rich culture and history of Portobelo, Panama. Portobelo is a small rural community located on the Caribbean coast of the Republic of Panama best known for its Spanish colonial heritage, its centuries-old Black Christ festival, and an Afro-Latin community who call themselves and their carnival performance tradition “Congo.” Click on the tabs above to learn more about the material currently contained on the site. You may access the archive either by clicking on the tap above and selecting an interviewee or by clicking on the “interactive project” tab. You may also listen to archived interviews via SoundCloud.

In addition to the material found in the archive, Digital Portobelo features two original documentaries, which my collaborators and I created. They are When the Devils Could Fly–A Tribune to Celedonio Molinar Ávila of Portobelo, Panama” and “ Comparsa Barrio Fino.” Like most digital humanities projects, we are a work-in-progress. Check back with us often to watch us grow!

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