In this excerpt, Chavarría shares childhood memories about how the Congo tradition was enacted before “the road.” In the “closed” community people did not work during carnival season, pooled resources, shared food, and communed together for several days as part of their celebration.
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, Chavarría discusses his memory of the last time the renowned Celedonio Molinar performed as devil and how his mentor retired in 2003 after being honored at that year’s Festival de los Diablos.
In this excerpt, Chavarría talks about his choice to play the devil role in the Congo tradition and shares his memories of how he came to play the role for the first time as a school-aged boy.
In this excerpt, Jiménez discuses the ways in which the 20th century notion of the devil character in the Congo tradition of Panama was “born” in Portobelo and discusses the ways in which his mentor in the tradition, Celedonio Molinar, brought back the practice of “Blessing the Devils.”
In this excerpt, Molinar explains the “pujido,” a sound that the devils within the Congo tradition of Panama make that is a part of their embodiment of the character. The literal translation of the word is “grunt,” but the effect is more than that. The sound amplifies internal energy and is done in response to both internal desires and external stimuli.
In this excerpt, Jiménez discusses how he began to play the role of the Major Devil character in the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama when Carlos Chavarria took a sabbatical from the role to study abroad in Russia.
In this excerpt, Solís discusses the enchantment she felt the first time that she witnessed Celedonio Molinar performing the role of Major Devil, the baptism of the devils, and how she learned about the performance traditions of Portobelo, Panama.
In this excerpt, Jiménez discusses the significance of the devil character to the Congo tradition of Panama and his perspective on playing the Major Devil character.
In this excerpt, Jiménez describes the “pujido”/”grunt” that the devil character uses to build internal energy and externalize it. He then discusses his interpretation of its relationship to the occult and a potential existential compromise.