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.
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Sandra Eleta First Impressions of Congo Tradition
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.
Sandra Eleta Founding of El Festival de los Diablos y Congos
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta discusses the founding of a recent cultural innovation, “El Festival de los Diablos y Congos.”
Sandra Eleta Founding of Taller Portobelo Women’s Cooperative
In this excerpt, Sandra Eleta discusses the founding and operation of Taller Portobelo Women’s Cooperative, a textile-arts workshop for local women.
Sandra Eleta Arturo Lindsay and Taller Portobelo
In this brief excerpt, Sandra Eleta talks about Arturo Lindsay and the founding of Taller Portobelo as a workshop for the Congo artists.
Carlos Chavarria Importance of Congo for Community Pride
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.
Carlos Chavarria Most Important Things to Know about Congo in Portobelo
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?”
Ileana Solis Palma Participation in Los Trashumantes
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.
Ileana Solis Palma Childhood in an Impoverished Neighborhood
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.
Carlos Chavarria Involvement in Local Politics
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.