Panama

Synopsis:
What does it mean to know the soul of a country? A city? A town? I met the soul of Guarare, Panama in Ivy, our Guarare-born and bred tour guide who’s grandmother was the first Mejorana Festival (annual festival to honor Panamanian tradition) queen in 1949, in Tano carving a papier-mâché Devil Mask off a clay mold, in Solomon who carefully explained each aspect of the pollera to us (the traditional Panamanian dress), in San Martin who’s hands molded cutaras (traditional shoes) for all of us late into our last night, in Eric, our bus driver, who wielded a machete with skill to answer my passing question at procuring a coconut, in Mara who baked one of the student’s a cake for her birthday, shared with us her iguana farm, and set off fireworks in honor of our visit, in Laura, a nationally known pollera-maker who, adorned with a pollera gold medal glistening around her neck, invited us into her home to show us her work, in Marco who bought a Panamanian souvenir at the market in anticipation of meeting us at our evening bonfire with the community, and in Bonnie who welcomed us into her beautiful, beach front abode to laze in her hammocks and share her love for the town that had stolen her heart.