Carnival Celebrations

February 2013

Towards the end of each Panamanian summer (Decmber-March) Carnaval is celebrated in Panamá.  Although it’s not as famous as Brazil’s Carnaval, it is quite well know regionally and it’s definitely the biggest event of the year in Panama.  It starts on a Friday and ends on the Tuesday (“Fat Tuesday”in New Orleans) before Ash Wednesday.  Like most of the countries in Latin America, the Catholic church has a very strong presence in Panamá, so Carnaval is the last time that many Panamanians let loose until after lent.

Although there are Carnaval events in Panamá City most people travel to various towns in el interior (the interior, basically anywhere outside of Panamá City) to visit family and celebrate the holidays.  The most famous Carnaval celebration occurs in the city of Las Tablas, in the Province of Los Santos.  Penonomé, Ocú, Santiago, and David are also considered to have some of the largest and most fun parties.   In these towns the preperations for Carnaval go on all year.  It’s not uncommon to see people in May building floats or holding meetings to prepare for next year’s Carnaval.  One of the most competitive and labor intensive Carnaval activities to prepare for is the Riena de Carnaval competencia (the Carnival Queen competition) from the largest cities to the smallest towns almost every Latin community in Panamá holds a competition and elects a their own Riena de Carnaval. There are normally at least two Rienas for each group that compete against one another to represent their town.  Traditionally one Riena represents calle arriba (the upper part of the community) and calle abajo (the lower part of the community [geographically not economically]). Throughout the year the families of the Rienas hold fundraisers to help them pay for the outfits, music and floats.  In the largest Carnaval celebrations the families of the Rienas can spend up to $25,000 on the competition. 

Culecos are giant water parties that occur each day during Carnaval in Panamá.  I believe they are a uniquely Panamanian events, and personally my favorite part of Carnaval.  Culecos are afternoon street parties that are usually held in public squares.  Huge semi-trucks are brought into the center of town with huge water tanks attached to the back.  On top of the trucks are giants speakers blasting reggaeton and skanntily clad women using large hoses to cover the crowds below with water.  Every posible space around the trucks gets flooded with coolers full of beer and soaking wet people dancing to the music. 

This year I spent the first three days of Carnaval Ocú, Los Santos with a number of other Peace Corps volunteers.  There were over 30 of us that stayed at the house of a Peace Corps volunteer named Jeremy who lives in Ocú.  Some people stayed in tents and hammocks behind his house and on the front porch, while the rest of us slept on beds, couches and air mattresses around the house.  After Las Tablas, Ocú has the second largest and most well known Carnaval celebration.  Every morning we woke up to cajas de cerveza (24 packs of beer), dance parties in the house and out on the street, and neighbors making and selling breakfast.  Around 1 pm we would walk into the town center where there were stands selling food, artisan goods, souvenirs, beer, fireworks, super soakers, and just about anything else you can think of.  By this time there were normally a lot of bands to listen to and parades to watch as they snaked through town.  At 2pm we would go over to the culecos.  There were 15 culeco trucks competing for the attention of the public, but we tended to go to the same one because they allowed us to climb on top, spray the crowds, and drink their super soakers full of seco (sugarcane liquor).  When the culecos ended around 5pm we would head back to Jeremy’s house to rest up for the evening or have dance parties in the street with his neighbors.  Each evening there were firework shows, parades with the Rienas’ floats, and giant discotecas (nightclubs especially set up for Carnaval).  We usually made it back to Jeremy’s house around 5am so we could sleep for a couple hours before starting all over again.

After spending three days at Jeremy’s house I headed back to Penonomé so that I could spend the rest of Carnaval with some of Pamanian friends.  In Penonomé they celebrate Carnaval similarly to Ocú.  The largest differences are that things in Penonomé are done on a smaller scale, it has a slightly more rural feel, and it’s not so ridiculously hot.  For me it also felt different because I was only hanging out with Panamanians.  As much as I enjoyed being with my Peace Corps friends, it was a lof of fun and felt more authentic to just be with Panamanians.  I met their extended families, ate homecooked meals, and definitely got the inside scoop on where the best events were being held.  My favorite part of Carnaval in Penonomé is the river party.  Each year they flood a part of the main river, so it can become a huge swimming area.  They set up food and alcohol vendors, stages for DJs and bands, and bring in tons of lifeguards to look after all the drunk people swimming from one side to another.  Although it sounds like a recipe for disaster I was amazed by how patient and well trained all of the lifeguards were. 

In the end it was great to be able to experience Carnval in two different places and with two very different groups of people.  Overall I think I had more fun seeing how Panamanians celebrate Carnaval.  In my community the Carnval  celebrations are pretty mellow so I’ll probably head out again for Carnaval next year.  But I do want to spend at least one day in a campo (country) community nearby.  My friend has invited me to go with him next year to hear tamborito (traditional Panamanian drumming) and bet on his roosters in the cock fights.  That will be another first for me.