Heraldo Eucebio De Hoyos, Abdiel Valdez, and Eric Blanquicet discuss their favorite Barrio Fino memory or activity. All talk about the magic of their first public performance. In responding, Heraldo gives the spectrum of Portobelo personalities active with the group to illustrate how thoroughly it represents a broad spectrum of Portobelo culture and embodies the spirit of the community.
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta discusses her earliest encounters with Portobelo and how the generous acts of a man from the French Antilles named Dorcy caused her to settle and work in Portobelo.
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta discusses her experiences entering Portobelo as an outsider and the ways in which the children of the town served as a bridge to integrate her into the community.
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta shares her first impressions of the Congo tradition of Portobelo and how she became exposed to it through a Congo practitioner named Longaniza and his daughter Paloma.
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta discusses the founding of a recent cultural innovation, “El Festival de los Diablos y Congos.”
In this excerpt, Ileana discusses being raised by a hardworking middle-class mother within the economically impoverished neighborhood of Calidonia and the centrality of art to her personal development.
In this excerpt, Chavarria talks about his history of involvement in local politics and offers his unique perspective as Major Devil in the Congo tradition and Mayor of Portobelo district. The district includes: Isla Grande, Juan Gallego, La Guaira, Puerto Lindo o Garrote, Cacique, Jose Pobre, Valle Estilla, San Antonio, Nuevo Tonosi, Portobelo, La Escucha, Buenaventura, Guanche, Mechi, Alto de la Cruz, Playa Langosta, Rio Piedra, María Chiquita, Las Mercedes y Las Merceditas.
In this excerpt, Chavarría talks about the importance of the Congo tradition and Congo dance to the community’s sense of pride and self. He urges young people to maintain the power of their traditions and to stay anchored to their sense of “place” and home.
In this excerpt, Chavarría responds to the question, “One hundred years in the future when scholars are studying the Congo tradition in Portobelo, what are the most important things that they should know?”
In this excerpt, Ileana discusses her participation with “Los Trashumantes,” the only theater group in Panama that was paid to do community theater and the Omjar Torrijos’ support for artistic culture.