In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the changes she has seen in the Congo tradition over the course of her lifetime. Specifically, she talks about the role that a character named “Mama Guardia” once played.
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Simona Esquina Changes to the Role of the Pajarito
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the changes she has seen in the Congo tradition over the course of her lifetime. Specifically, she talks about the role that Pajarito, the Little Bird, once played in the Congo game, and the ways in which the character and the game have shifted. The construction of the road signaled the end of the game as one between neighboring Congo Kingdoms who competed to capture each others’ palacio/palenque. The contemporary game is between the discrete Congo communities and the character of the devil.
Simona Esquina Tourism Reviving Congo Tradition
In this short excerpt, Esquina talks about the ways in which tourism is reviving aspects of the Congo tradition in Portobelo.
Simona Esquina Changes to the Role of the Princess
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the changes she has seen in the Congo tradition over the course of her lifetime. Specifically, she talks about the role that the princess character once played.
Simona Esquina Memory of Mother Dancing
In this excerpt, Esquina shares one of her fondest childhood memories, the one and only time that her mother danced in the Congo tradition.
Simona Esquina Meaning and Significance of Congo in Portobelo
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the meaning and significance of the Congo tradition to Portobelo.
Simona Esquina Changes to the Role of the King
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the changes she has seen in the Congo tradition over the course of her lifetime. Specifically, she talks about the ways in which the king’s role has diminished since her father once played it.
Simona Esquina Significance of Congo Name
In this Excerpt, Esquina discusses the significance of her Congo name “Revellin.”
Simona Esquina Differences in Costumes
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the differences between the costumes of the Congo community of Portobelo and other Congo communities in Panama.
Simona Esquina Memory of Father as Congo King
In this excerpt, Esquina recounts watching her father, Vicente Esquina, get dressed as the Congo King and accompanying him to the palenque/palacio to play Congo. Memories of her father’s participation as king mark some of Esquina’s earliest recollections of the tradition.