In this excerpt, Esquina discusses her pride for the Congo tradition and its importance to the towns of Panama’s upper coast.
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Raul Orlando Jimenez Delgado Being Selected as Major Devil
In this excerpt, Jiménez discusses his interpretation of how one is selected to play the role of Major Devil in the Congo tradition of Portobelo, Panama.
Simona Esquina Razor Blades in Devil Whips
In this excerpt, Esquina discusses the changes she has seen in the Congo tradition over the course of her lifetime. Specifically, she talks about changes that she has witnessed in ways in which younger practitioners who perform the role of devil in other communities sometimes put razor blades in their whips, which violates the nature of the game.
Simona Esquina Beginning of Congo Season
In this brief excerpt, Esquina describes the ways in which Congo season begins in Panama on the feast day of San Sebastian with the raising of the Congo flag.
Simona Esquina Changes to the Congo Tradition
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 rare existence of two palacios in 2003 and the shifting commitment of Congo practitioners who once participated in the tradition exclusively and without interruption during carnival season before the road was constructed in the early 1970s, which connected Portobelo and the rest of the Coasta Arriba to the broader Republic.