Panamá Crossroads of the Americas Editor’S Letter by June Carolyn Erlick

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SPRING 2013

PANAMÁ CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS EDITOR’S LETTER BY JUNE CAROLYN ERLICK

ZocaloCrossroads Hed 26 pt

Zocalo deck 14 point one line BY Five hundred years ago this fall Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Climbing alone to the high peak of a mountain, he saw a glimmer of what was then called “the South Sea.” Four days later, he and his men reached the ocean and claimed all of what was to become the nation of Panamá for Spain. As Arys- teides Turpana notes in his article, the Guna leader Bab Giakwa guided the Spaniards there, hoping that they would follow their illusions of coffers of gold and stop the displacement of native people. VOLUME XII NO. 3 That September 25, 1513, sighting marked the opening of a crossroads between the David Rockefeller Center Pacific and the European worlds, between the indigenous culture and the Spaniards. It led for Latin American Studies to the hopes and illusions and fears and tragedies for generations—from the Spanish conquest Director to the building of the Panama Canal, connecting the Pacific to the Atlantic for the first time Merilee S. Grindle in history. Executive Director I also think of the encounter with the Pacific as setting the stage for other crossroads: the Kathy Eckroad ethnic and cultural diversity of bustling port cities, the diversity of northern and southern species, and the sometimes difficult junction of modernization and underdevelopment, democ- ReVista ratization and authoritarianism. The geographical configuration of the country made it ideal Editor-in-Chief for a canal to join the two oceans, although neighboring Nicaragua was also a stiff contender June Carolyn Erlick for the passageway. The French came first, undertaking a huge feat of engineering in 1881, Copy Editor but were ultimately defeated by rains, jungle and tropical disease. Then came the Americans, Anita Safran taking over the territory of the Panama Canal Zone and eventually conquering the jungle, Publication Interns torrential rains and tropical disease to successfully build the canal. The United States finally Jai Chowdhry Beeman Carlos Schmidt Padilla returned the Canal Zone to the Panamanian nation on December 31, 1999. Alicia Zamora Living next to such a powerful ocean, forging history in a place where geography is Design destiny, creates a particular resilience. Once a part of Colombia, once virtually a colony of the 2COMMUNIQUÉ United States, Panamá with the powerful Pacific on one side and the sprawling Atlantic on www.2communique.com the other has come into its own. As Roberto Eisenmann observes, Panamá is possibly the only Printer country in the world that celebrates three independence days. P & R Publications As a little girl, I’d listen over and over again to the story of “The Little Engine That Could.” Contact Us That’s the way I envision Panamá— as “the little country that could.” And it’s the reason that 1730 Cambridge Street we decided to honor the Spanish spelling of the country in this issue. It’s a little salute to a Cambridge, MA 02138 small but determined country. Panamá has conquered disease and geographical challenges; Telephone: 617-495-5428 it has built and developed and modernized. The canal is being expanded; the historical center Subscriptions and Reader Forum of Panama City is drawing a thriving tourist business; new museums and a lively art scene [email protected] stimulate Panamanian identity and culture. The country’s economic growth rate in 2012 was Website estimated at 10.6%. Yet, as many of this issue’s authors point out, the country still faces many www.drclas.harvard.edu/publications/ challenges—including inequality and repression. revistaonline This magazine is the product of the collaboration of many courageous, resilient and Facebook creative people—for the most part Panamanians. A special thanks to all of them, and, in ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America particular, to Fernando Berguido, editor and friend, without whom this issue would not have Copyright © 2013 by the President and been possible. Fellows of Harvard College. ISSN 1541—1443 ReVista is printed on recycled stock.

This issue of ReVista is made possible through generous support of Sovereign/Santander HARVARD REVIEW OF LATIN AMERICA

SPRING 2013 VOLUME XII NO. 3

Published by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Harvard University

IN EVERY ISSUE

BOOK TALK Anarchic Jesters: Political Resistance PANAMÁ Through Art A Review by Larry Rohter 72

Drugs, Immigration and Juan Gabriel FIRST TAKE A Review by Marcela Turati 74 The Isthmus and Its Challenges by Fernando Berguido 2 Mythical Beasts of the Colombian Violence THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY A Review by Paolo Vignolo 76 The Story That Panamá Decided to Write by Alberto Alemán Zubieta 6 Panamá and the United States by I. Roberto Eisenmann Jr. 9 MAKING A DIFFERENCE A Hidden Dictator by Fernando Berguido 14 Hasta Luego, Not Goodbye A Tale of Two Flags by Jorge Ritter 20 by Isabel “Izzy” Evans 78 Who Remembers Panamá? by Don Bohning 22 THE LAST WORD THE CHALLENGE OF INEQUALITY by Noel Maurer 81 Photoessay by Lorne Matalon 24

ETHNIC DIVERSITY ONLINE Panamanian Culture by María Mercedes de Corró 34 Look for more content online at Muslims and Jews in Panamá by Ebrahim Asvat 37 drclas.harvard.edu/publications/revistaonline. The Distortion of History by Arysteides Turpana 38 Encounters with Guna Celebrations Photoessay by James Howe 40 The Chinese of Panamá Also Have a Story to Tell by Ramón A. Mon 46

CULTURE Panama City: Contemporary Art by Adrienne Samos 50 The Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá by Angeles Ramos Baquero 53 The Panamanian Novel by Berna Burrell 58

BIODIVERSITY A Century of the Smithsonian Institution on the Isthmus of Panamá by Ira Rubinoff 62 ON THE COVER

Building the Biomuseo by Darién Montañez 66 Fireworks over Panama City. Photographer Eric Batista of Degreening Panamá by Lina Vega Abad and Raisa G. Banfield 69 La Prensa of Panamá made this image. FIRST TAKE

The Isthmus and Its Challenges

BY FERNANDO BERGUIDO

FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS PANAMÁ HAS MAIN- efficiency and good administration. Ships tained enviable economic growth. Dur- that transit the waterway today do so ing the last decade, the country consis- faster and with fewer accidents than ever tently ranked among the top in economic before in the history of the canal, even growth in all of Latin America. Despite before the conclusion of an ambitious the serious economic crisis that devas- expansion project underway that should tated Europe and the United States, this be ready next year. small country experienced a more than While enjoying this bonanza, econom- 10 percent growth rate in 2011 and 2012. ic growth has not been transferred to its The infrastructure in progress—includ- entire population in an equitable and effi- ing the first subway in Central America, cient fashion. Pockets of urban and rural hundreds of skyscrapers, new residential poverty remain at unacceptable levels. neighborhoods, ports, and other logistics According to the Economic Commission zones—astonishes visitors who come to for Central America and the Caribbean Panama City. (Cepal), 12.4 percent of the population Following the 1989 U.S. military inva- lives in extreme poverty (Panorama Social sion of Panamá, the nation’s political de America Latina, 2012). The percentage forces came together to rebuild an open, of Panamanians living in extreme poverty democratic, and demilitarized country. has decreased in the last 10 years from 18 Since then, Panamá has held four nation- percent to 12.4 percent, but this is entirely al elections with transparency. Further- unacceptable, especially when an addi- more, opposition candidates won all four tional 15 percent of the population is at elections. Their victories were promptly the “poverty” line, and that does not count accepted by the electoral authorities, as participants in the informal economy who well as by the other candidates. escape inclusion in the statistics. It is no coincidence that economic Public education continues to be a growth coincided with the establish- calamity; twenty years of democratic gov- ment in Panamá of a democratic regime ernment have not been able to improve that left behind two decades of mili- teacher quality, much less the perfor- tary control and saw the transfer of the mance and test results of students. And administration of the Panama Canal to the level of education reflects in the qual- Panamanian hands. In fact, after covering ity of the labor force needed to sustain operational costs, Panamá received in just economic growth. At present, unemploy- one year dividends equivalent to the sum ment figures are under 3 percent, but 46 of all dividends received during the ninety percent of workers have not finished high years of U.S. control of the waterway. school, according to Cepal. Under democracy, the administration Panamanians are also facing an enor- of the Panama Canal became an inde- mous political challenge: the adminis- pendent and technical body, devoid of tration of justice. The judicial branch is party politics. The canal has been under being steadily taken over by the country’s Panamanian management since Decem- political machinery. After the U.S. inva- ber 31, 1999, and has been an example of sion, initial efforts to give independence

2 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/RICARDO ITURRIAGA Clockwise from left: A view of Panama City; on board Captain Felipe Joseph’s tugboat head- ing to the Atlantic from the Pacific on the Panama Canal; Alberto Nichols, 63, seaman leader, is a crew member on Captain Felipe Joseph’s tugboat. Joseph was a member of the transition team that negotiated with the United States on the minutiae of the canal handover.

PHOTOS BY LORNE MATALON DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 3 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

to judges and prosecutors (during the tory has shown that the ratification of choose their president, vice president, military dictatorship, the judicial system these appointments by the National all 71 members of the National Assem- was under the absolute control of the Assembly is a mere formality. President bly (Panamá is one of the few countries government) began to wane when politi- Ernesto Perez Balladares, followed by in the world where the congress is uni- cal leaders sought to protect themselves President Mireya Moscoso, initiated the cameral), and all of the country’s mayors from charges of corruption committed practice of appointing justices with loy- and municipal councils. The presidential during their administrations. This fail- alty to the current administration to the term, as well as those of the deputies and ure is a veritable tragedy for Panamani- Supreme Court, but even worse, judges mayors, is for five years. ans. It’s a ticking time bomb if corrective who were willing to cover the president’s Martinelli won in 2009 with a vast measures are not taken. back during their tenure. This prac- majority. His promise of “change” was The judicial system has a vertical con- tice has come to its lowest point with based on a head-on fight against corrup- trol structure. The president appoints President Ricardo Martinelli, who has tion that is becoming a chronic problem the nine members of the Supreme Court coopted the court in an unprecedented for the country. The majority of the elec- of Justice, who are then ratified by the fashion, at a time when acts of corrup- torate believed in Martinelli’s campaign National Assembly for 10-year periods. tion have stigmatized his administration promises. After all, he was a multimil- The Supreme Court directly appoints from the first moment he took office. In lionaire who promised to solve Panamá’s all appellate court judges. These, in turn, opinion poll after opinion poll, the Pana- problems—as he had done in the private appoint all circuit judges. And circuit manian judicial branch receives a less sector—as an outsider and with zero tol- judges appoint all minor judges. Between than 20 percent credibility rating. erance toward corruption. He sold Pana- four and five justices are appointed Elections will take place next year, in manians a Bloomberg-type of leadership; during every presidential term, and his- May 2014. On the same day, voters will instead, he became a Berlusconi. Unlike in the political arena, this year and next look promising in the economic field. Panamá will be ready to open up to the world an expanded canal and a modern city, with an environment in which thousands of U.S. and European retirees have chosen to live. Panamá’s great challenge at this point is not to sustain the growth of its economy but to strengthen its fragile institutional democracy, to substantially improve its education system, and to initiate a serious commitment toward an independent administration of justice before these institutions collapse and cause problems that could overshadow the good rating that financial credit-rating institutions have given us.

Fernando Berguido was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He is a former publisher and editor of La Prensa, a past president of Transparency International-Panamá, and a member of the Truth Comission of his country. He received his law degree from the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua School of Law and earned—as a Ful- bright Scholar—a Master of Laws degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (UCLA). A man steers his boat as dawn breaks over the Panama City skyline.

4 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/ERIC BATISTA THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

The Panama Canal helped shape the nation’s history. It spurred the campaign against tropical diseases. It led to independence from Colombia and to the country’s complicated relationship with the United States. Now with the huge expansion through a third set of locks, it is leading the country toward a renewed presence as a commercial and trading hub.

n The Story That Panamá Decided to Write 6 n Panamá and the United States 9 n A Hidden Dictator 14 n A Tale of Two Flags 20 n Who Remembers Panamá? 22 n The Challenge of Inequality 24

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/ERIC BATISTA PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

The Story That Panamá Decided to Write

The Panama Canal through the Years BY ALBERTO ALEMÁN ZUBIETA

A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE SET FOR THE and Americans alike had made during the will emerge as a result. By 2015, the canal transfer of the Panama Canal from the past four years to achieve a seamless tran- will have a third set of locks, resulting in United States to Panamá, a reporter sition of the canal to Panamanian hands, increased traffic and bigger ships. The from a U.S. news network asked me, “Mr. I looked at the reporter and replied, “The work is already half completed. Alemán, what can you tell the American only thing that will come after December Yet, with the passage of time that public about what will happen the day af- 31, 1999, is January 1, 2000.” gives us a different perspective, the for- ter December 31, 1999?” Today the comments about the canal mer doubts and uncomfortable questions This question summed up all the and Panamá do not express doubts surrounding the transfer of the canal to doubts the international community had whether Panamá can accomplish its goals. Panamá are more understandable. about our country’s ability to operate one The story now centers on how its decision Since the signing of the Torrijos-Cart- of the most important commercial infra- to expand the canal will influence what er treaties in 1977, Panamá experienced structures in the world. After recalling countries like the United States are doing political instability, having to rebuild its the tremendous effort that Panamanians to adapt to the new shipping market that democracy nearly from scratch in the

6 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/RICARDO ITURRIAGA THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

were part of the transition that was in process in different areas of the canal as part of the treaty. Therefore, on December 31, 1999, we were ready to receive the canal.

A TIME OF CHANGE Receiving the canal in an orderly and seamless fashion was only one of the challenges ahead. Our citizens had the double challenge of generating more profits for Panamá and improving the service provided to the international community. We were always implementing new programs or strengthening the existing ones. For example, we swiftly implement- ed an ambitious modernization plan to replace or rehabilitate key canal operations equipment such as locomotives and tugboats, as well as marine traffic, management and many other systems. It was a 10-year plan that required the invest- ment of more than US$2 billion dollars. Along with the operational modernization, we undertook studies and

Left: The third set of locks is shown under strengthened our relationships with the construction in Gatún. Concrete is being international maritime industry to better poured for the foundation of the third set of understand the business and its needs. locks in the Atlantic area in preparation of This led us to take measures such as seg- the excavation and removal of a large quan- menting different types of customers, cre- tity of dirt. The photo was taken on June 1, 2011. Above: Panama Canal workers (ACP) ating a reservation system and introducing perform maintenance on the Miraflores locks new products. We started new training and on September 6, 2011. promotion programs for the nearly 10,000 Panama Canal employees. We began a permanent crusade for performance effi- early 1990s after the U.S. invasion. All of constitutionally mandated independent ciency and excellence. We revamped com- this happened within 10 years of receiv- status for the canal to ensure the water- pletely the way the institution contracted ing the waterway. way’s efficient operation and to generate its goods and services, measured perfor- However, the canal for us was not the benefits that we had longed for during mance and planned for the future. only an economic asset to be incorpo- so many years. Most of these measures were difficult rated to our economy, but something far Here I’m referring to something more to implement, so we had to be consistent more deeply rooted in our identity as a comprehensive than a legal change. in our decisions and, above all, continue nation. From the beginning of the 20th Think about it; even in the midst of a to improve the quality of our service. The century, many generations fought, and severe economic crisis, Panamanians growing confidence of customers and the even sacrificed their lives, to make the decided to bet on the canal’s develop- international maritime community helped canal Panamá’s patrimony and to correct ment instead of eating the goose that lays us make major changes such as a new a historical injustice that gave the United the golden egg. The canal would be man- toll structure. The maritime community States the right to manage it perpetually. aged by a public entity, independent of understood that the fees should be based And now that we have achieved the the government. This entity would man- on the value of the service provided, allow- dream of several generations, we are age the canal’s budget and its procure- ing for what it costs to maintain a route not going to let it fade away. Prior to the ment system, keeping out of politics and that helps save time, distance and money. transfer, Panamanian society as a whole— avoiding problems that do so much harm The canal also had to change its rela- employers, trade unions, professionals, to other government institutions. tionship with Panamá. Even though the students, politicians—decided to create a These and other new legal standards waterway was in the heart of the country,

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/BIENVENIDO VELASCO DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 7 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

it was unknown territory to many Pana- step was to confirm that the country as already taking measures to capitalize on manians. A cultural change was crucial. a whole agreed. In accordance with our the new value the canal route will offer. Community relations programs gave the Constitution, the proposal had to be sub- The expansion is half completed and is canal a national presence. Visitor cen- mitted to national referendum. expected to be in operation by mid-2015. ters were built so all Panamanians could An interesting challenge for the Pana- Next year the Panama Canal will reach admire the patrimony that they had been ma Canal arose. The majority of us were its centennial, and its contributions to deprived of for so many years. engineers and technicians in specialized humanity are far beyond the union of two As part of that effort, work with the fields, and now we faced the challenge of oceans. From the Isthmus arose contri- communities along the Panama Canal explaining in accessible terms the need butions to medicine, engineering, envi- Watershed began to ensure water avail- to expand the canal to all Panamani- ronmental conservation, work safety, job ability. The waterway uses 2 billion gallons ans. It had been only six years since we security and many other developments of water to ensure the transit for close to received the canal and already we were that are now common concepts. 40 vessels from the Atlantic Ocean to the contemplating its future. For Panamá, these 100 years of history Pacific, and vice versa, on a daily basis, and As the institution responsible for the are full of sacrifice, effort and achieve- the only way to safeguard this resource project, it was up to us to explain the ments. It took Panamanians only six years was to preserve the basin surrounding the canal’s needs to all levels of society. It was to surpass the economic contributions of canal. The Panama Canal Watershed also not an easy task. We were talking about 85 years of U.S. administration. As a mat- supplies Panama City and several major investing close to $5 billion dollars at a ter of fact, from the year 2000, the Pana- urban centers with drinking water. To time when the national debt was close to manian government has received more ensure water availability it was necessary $10 billion dollars. In this sense, a fun- than 8 billion dollars in direct contribu- to help farmers to better exploit their land damental premise of the expansion proj- tions from the canal. In its main business by granting them land titles and working ect was that the canal should use its own route, from Asia to the East Coast of the with them to show them ways to have sus- funds, without governmental guarantees United States, the canal went from a mar- tainable farms. Today, the canal is one of and never decreasing its direct economic ket share of 11 percent to 43 percent today. the top water managers in the world, and contributions to the state. Thanks its credibility, Panamá obtained its alliance with its neighboring communi- After an extensive national debate, financing for its expansion project in ties has been recognized internationally. on October 22, 2006, the Panama Canal 2008 without major drawbacks, during Expansion Project was approved by near- one of the worst financial crises in history. THE MOMENT TO GROW ly 80 percent of the national vote. That is, With the expansion of the Panama Once the canal had gained customer con- eight out of every ten Panamanians voting Canal, new times begin that promise fidence and credibility among its stake- agreed with the expansion. more changes, but all with the constant holders, it was time to make the necessary In 2007, we started the expansion proj- of a country committed to use its geo- decisions in order to grow, expand, com- ect that is rapidly moving towards its goal graphical position to bring the world pete and capitalize on international mar- of transforming the global shipping indus- together and contribute to the sustain- ket demand. Previously, at the beginning try. The canal expansion is changing trade able development of its people. of the 1990s, a commission made up of patterns as it did almost 100 years ago On the national level, however, the chal- members from the United States, Japan with its opening. This time it is neither the lenge remains to transfer the canal’s suc- and Panamá had examined the possibility French, nor the Americans who are doing cess to other aspects of social life. Our geo- of expanding the waterway, but the effort it; this time it is the Panamanians. graphical position provides us with unique succumbed to political complexities. The waterway’s expansion has trig- natural competitive advantages that we We then undertook a study that led us gered important discussions in the United must know how to develop. It’s not easy, of to the development of the Panama Canal States, the principal user of the waterway, course, but as we have shown the world, we Master Plan, describing the main chal- regarding the country’s maritime and have already done it with the canal. lenges for the canal. We hired the best port facilities. Last July, the White House experts in engineering, design, water, ordered expediting work on five port Alberto Alemán Zubieta, a profes- environment and finance and adminis- facilities on the East Coast to adapt them sional engineer, was CEO of the Panama tration. The study determined that the to the dimensions of the new vessels that Canal between 1996 and 2012. During canal’s operation would reach full capac- will transit through the expanded canal, his tenure, the United States handed ity in a few years, resulting in a decrease carrying more cargo and with more trade over to Panamá the management of the in service levels. In our discussions with moving to and from the United States. waterway, the canal was modernized the maritime industry, it became clear Latin America will have enormous oppor- and the expansion of the canal, the larg- that they were interested in our taking on tunities for trade through this project; in est project since its construction in 1914, the expansion project. However, the first fact, Colombia, Jamaica, and Chile are was undertaken.

8 ReVista SPRING 2013 THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

Panamá and the United States

A Love-Hate Relationship BY I. ROBERTO EISENMANN, JR.

MARCHING BANDS IN THEIR COLORFUL UNI- ter job running the Canal than we did.” U.S. relationship. In the following days a forms from schools all over Panamá fill To understand the current situation, one very well-connected and shrewd French- the streets of the City for the November must first understand a bit of history. In man, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, involved 3 Independence Day parades. Panamá 1821, Panamá declared its independence in the failed French Panama Canal proj- is possibly the only country in the world from the Spanish Crown and in an effort ect, hastily signed (hours before the offi- that celebrates not one but three inde- to protect its nation voluntarily joined cial Panamanian delegation arrived in pendence days every year. The people of “The Great Colombia.” Those were many Washington, D.C.) a U.S.-Panama Treaty Panamá have a strong sense of nation- years of total abandonment by Colom- granting the U.S. a “Panamá Canal Zone,” hood. The country’s complicated history bia, including a congressional rejection ten miles wide across the center of the has resulted in a love-hate relationship of a treaty to assure the building of the Isthmus, to be governed by the United with the United States that eventually Panamá Canal. In 1903, following the States “as if it were sovereign...” in perpe- became an extraordinary foreign policy Thousand-Days’ War, a civil conflict in tuity”. A treaty that no Panamanian ever success for both countries. Colombia that also engulfed its Panama- signed laid the basis for the “hate” part Today, the Panama Canal Author- nian province, Panamá declared its inde- of the Panamá-U.S. relationship. Ninety- ity is completing a US$5.5 billion self- pendence from Colombia. This second five years later, this ominous treaty was financed expansion program that will revolutionary act was successful in part annulled and new reasonable treaties allow the transit of much larger ships. because of the support of United States were put into place. Panamá again was Both Republican and Democratic U.S. gunships off the coast (similar to the sovereign in all of its territory, taking administration officials have publicly French support of U.S. revolutionaries in admitted: “Panamá is doing a much bet- 1776)….thus the love part of the Panamá- Girls dance in an Independence Day parade.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/ERIC BATISTA DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 9 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

control of the Panama Canal. Thus, the Panamá-U.S. relationship swung back to its “love” part …and Panamá’s third independence. To the credit of the non-violent tradition of the Panamanian people, the first two independences were achieved through intelligent negotiation without spilling one drop of blood. In the third and final independence, shooting started from the U.S. side.

EFFORTS AT REFORM OR REVISION OF TREATIES Since the very beginning of the Hay- Bunau Varilla Treaty, the Panamanian people objected to the one-sided document and began their national struggle to reform the treaty and the Panamá- U.S. relationship. On the U.S. side, the Canal Zone government was assigned to the U.S. military with an Army General appointed governor of the area, making the relationship that much more difficult. The Panama Canal Zone became the perfect colony. The United States owned all lands; no private businesses Above: Demonstration by the opposition group Cruzada Civilista on Calle 50 in May 1989; were allowed, all employees were U.S. Right: High school students protest at the January 9, 1964, uprising against U.S. control of the government-employed, who lived in gov- Panama Canal, a day that is now known as “Martyr’s Day” because 22 Panamanians (and four ernment housing, shopped in govern- U.S. soldiers) were killed in the ensuing riots. ment commissaries, were educated in government schools, went to government some adjustments to the treaties. The School in the Canal Zone to raise the Pan- theaters, and learned to live behind pro- next adjustments took place in 1955 amanian flag on the empty flagpole next tective high chain link fences, psycholog- when both countries had military men to the U.S. flag. The high school students, ically isolating them from Panamá and as presidents: José Antonio Remón and intending to carry out the U.S. President’s its citizens. Jobs for U.S. citizens in the Dwight D. Eisenhower. order, were attacked by “Zonians” in full Canal Zone were inherited from genera- In 1960 President Lyndon Johnson, view of Canal Zone policemen. Their Pan- tion to generation so that these people no in order to relieve tensions between the amá flag was torn to shreds; The students longer felt the United States was “home.” two countries, gave the order to fly the ran for their lives back to “the border,” Nor did these Zonians feel Panamá was Panamanian flag next to the Stars and the Panamanian side of the zone. The home either; they were colonialists in the Stripes in the U.S.-governed Canal Zone. news spread like wildfire and thousands full sense of the word. The Canal Zone’s of Panamanians gathered at “the border,” salary system had gold and silver levels: THE 1964 CRISIS and the Canal Zone governor ordered the U.S. citizens were gold, and Panamani- In a fury, “Zonians” rejected the Johnson U.S.Army to the border. Shooting erupted ans were silver, earning much lower pay order and even took down U.S. flagpoles against largely unarmed Panamanians. for equal work, thereby becoming sec- to avoid flying the Panamanian flag. This The casualty count was lopsided: 21 peo- ond-class citizens in their own country. exacerbated the resentment of all Pana- ple were killed on the Panamanian side, These disparities reinforced the hate part manians towards the “Zonians” and the while on the U.S. side, four U.S. Army of the relationship between the United United States. personnel lost their lives. Panamanian States and Panamá. Finally, after Zonians had refused to President Roberto F. Chiari—respond- Panamá’s efforts to negotiate changes comply with the presidential order for ing to the outcry of his people—took the to the 1903 Treaty continued, but it was four entire years, a small group of Pana- dramatic step of severing diplomatic rela- not until 1936 that then-Panamanian manian National Institute high school tions with the United States. This marked President Harmodio Arias achieved students marched toward Balboa High a first in Latin America, since even in

10 ReVista SPRING 2013 THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

Panamanian Constitution, to say nothing of disappearances and serious allegations of persecution and murder. After the 1964 riots, Panamá endured 13 years of frustrating negotiations with consecutive U.S. governments. Finally, the Torrijos-Carter Treaties were signed and submitted for legislative approval of both countries. In a very hostile environment, President Carter personally campaigned for U.S. Senate approval. Opposition to Carter stubbornly repeated “the Canal is ours, we built it, and we will not permit that it be given away” mantra. The Senate vote-counting came down to single dig- its, which was not going to be made any easier with Panamanian political exiles walking the halls of the Senate, describing the horrors committed by the Torrijos regime. To whitewash the uncomfortable facts about the dictatorship, Carter got Torrijos to agree to the return of all political exiles. The brief period in which the Torrijos dictatorship put on a gentler face—for Washington’s benefit—is known as the “democratic Spring” (veranillo the case of Cuba, it had been the United lem” to prove that the United States— the democrático) amongst Panamanians. States that broke with Cuba, not the other world power—could negotiate face-to- In Washington the strategy worked, way around. face with a small and weak county, thus and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties were Chiari called on Miguel J. Moreno, guaranteeing the safety of a world-class confirmed by a one vote margin in the a prestigious political adversary, who asset, the Panama Canal. It also helped Senate. In Panamá, however, they went would become Panamanian Ambassador that the U.S. Defense Department had to referendum in the absence of politi- to the Organization of American States, decided earlier that the Panama Canal cal parties or a free press, and were to firmly present Panamá’s denunciations was militarily indefensible. That meant “approved” by 67 percent of the popula- of the U.S. attack. that the security of the Canal depended tion in a 96 percent turnout. An agreement, the Moreno-Bunker on peace in Panamá and the mainte- The treaties called for the transfer of document, was finally reached, complete- nance of Canal neutrality in regards to the Canal to Panamá in 22 years (at 12 ly changing the relationship between the Canal shipping access. All of these pluses noon Dec. 31, 1999), which then seemed two countries. Instead of the revision- became vital to the final outcome of the like an eternal wait…but the date finally ist doctrine stubbornly held onto by the new Panamá-U.S. negotiations. arrived. United States in regard to the 1903 one- The minus part, however, is that Pan- sided treaty, the agreement called for the amá was then ruled by Gen. Omar Torrijos, THE NORIEGA YEARS start of negotiations of a completely new Panamá’s first military dictator. Carter— Meanwhile the so-called “democratic Panamá-U.S. treaty, which would mark supposedly the “human rights presi- spring” came to a screeching halt in the the beginning of a new relationship. dent”—was put in the position of nego- early 1980s. General Omar Torrijos died tiating with a military dictator, a situa- in a plane crash in 1981, and after much A NEW RELATIONSHIP— tion that was very disturbing to Panamá’s infighting within the Panamanian - mili PLUSES AND MINUSES democrats (myself included). Under the tary, Manuel Antonio Noriega became Unbeknownst to Panamá and Panama- Torrijos dictatorship, many of Panamá’s the strongman-in-charge. Noriega had nians, a Georgia peanut farmer named civic opposition members of all politi- run the G-2 Intelligence under Torri- Jimmy Carter, who had become the U.S. cal and ideological persuasions were jos, who in military circles referred to Democratic presidential candidate, had arrested and forcefully exiled from their Noriega as “my gangster.” Noriega had prioritized the fixing of “the Panamá prob- country, an act expressly prohibited the been a CIA asset from the age of 18. His

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longtime CIA handler Nestor Sánchez was given a Defense Department con- tract when he retired because of his ties to Noriega. Noriega openly dealt with the Colombian drug mafias and handled the government’s budget as his personal petty cash. Under Noriega, Panamá was rapidly becoming the first country in the world controlled by the drug mafias. In 1986, a member of Noriega’s High Command broke with him when Noriega reneged on a promise to award him an ambassadorship and publicly confessed all the sins of the military brass, ranging from the murder of opposition leaders and stealing elections, among other crimes. The newspaper La Prensa published these revelations and the public outcry gave birth to the Cruzada Civilis- ta (Civilian Crusade)—which paralyzed the country, including shutting down the banks. Noriega lost all capability to govern and turned aggressively violent against the Panamanian people. By the next year (1987) with the Pan- amanian people protesting daily in the streets, what to do with Noriega became a major U.S. dilemma. An inter-agency the CIA (as a former CIA director, Bush egy. Fortunately, Panamá had recently crisis team on Panamá was in total dis- knew of the Noriega-CIA relationship). held a presidential election won by the array. The CIA continued supporting The invasion was extremely costly in lives opposition (and annulled by Noriega), Noriega, stating “he is our SOB;” the and property, but Noriega was arrested, so Panamá had a legitimately elected DEA protected him with statistics of tried and convicted in a U.S. court for civilian government in place which took drug interdiction in Panamá (actually drug trafficking; after serving 17 years office after the invasion. Since democracy becoming Noriega’s “enforcer” whose in prison in the United States and four had been Panamá’s traditional political tactic with drug runners was “you don’t years in France for money laundering, system, and dictatorship had only been a once-only prolonged parenthesis, the country immediately went back to its democratic roots and normalized rela- When the Panama Canal was turned over to tions with the United States. Panamanians, many believed that Panamá would Because Noriega had been considered to be supported by the United States probably not be capable of managing it. (again “hate”), the invasion to take him out was considered a liberation by the majority of the Panamanian people (a swing to the pay, I hand you over to the DEA).”) he now sits in a Panamanian jail under a “love” part of the Panamá-U.S. relation- Strangely, the State Department was 20-year sentence for the murder of many ship). Polling shows Panamá today as the the hawk and the Defense Department Panamanians. The Panamanian mili- most pro-U.S. country in the hemisphere. was the dove. The White House was at a tary was decimated by the U.S. invasion loss…until Noriega made the mistake of and Panamá approved a constitutional THE CANAL TURNOVER killing a U.S. soldier. amendment, declaring itself a demilita- Throughout the years leading up to the As a result, in 1989, President George rized and neutral nation. turnover, a plan to employ Panamani- H. W. Bush decided to invade Panamá, The United States carried out the inva- ans in executive positions at the canal taking Noriega out without informing sion with an almost immediate exit strat- and as canal pilots was seriously imple-

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Left: Views of a visit to the construction site of the locks in the Pacific section of the expansion of the Panama Canal. The photo was taken on August 13, 2012; Right: An overview of the locks. mented in an effort to make the turnover opposition) participated, achieving con- ans, much of the world opinion believed imperceptible to canal clients (the world’s sensus agreements to include the Pana- that Panamá most probably would not be shipping industry). At the beginning of ma Canal in the Constitution. Legislation capable of managing it. the transition, the Canal Administrator was created to guarantee the indepen- Zero credibility was a major problem, was American and the sub-Administrator dence of the canal organization to pro- but at the same time a major oppor- Panamanian. The Board of Directors was tect it from political interests. Consensus tunity. If Panamá did it right, it would made up of five Americans and four Pan- agreements with regards to zoning of the surprise the world and positive opinion amanians with a U.S. chairperson. Grad- Panama Canal Zone were also achieved, would have an exponential impact. ually, proportions shifted to the point as on December 31, 1999, the geography That is exactly what has happened: when the administrator was Panamanian of Panama City would duplicate in size. the canal transfer was imperceptible to (Gilberto Guardia F.) and Panamanians Panamanians are known for their world shipping. The canal organization held a majority of the board. Finally, the political differences, but throughout the shifted from a military bureaucracy to old U.S. Canal Commission was dissolved consensus process, they came together as an efficient profit-centered autonomous and replaced by the newly formed Pan- a people of one nation. The general feel- government organization. Under U.S. ama Canal Authority (an autonomous ing was “we won’t allow anyone to play administration, the canal had only one agency of the Panamá government). politics with our Canal.” objective: passing ships from one ocean Since Panamá had to create legisla- to another. Under Panamanian adminis- tion for the canal, with the assistance of THE RESULTS tration, by contrast, the Canal Authority the United Nations Development Pro- When the world superpower transfers has permitted the development of four gramme (UNDP), representatives of all a major international asset to a small world-class Ports, the modernization of sectors of Panamanian society participat- young country, the obvious generalized the Panamá Canal Railroad, the developed in the initiation of a national consen- feeling is one of zero credibility. When ment of tourism and many other comple- sus. All political parties (government and the canal was turned over to Panamani- mentary activities.

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The Panama Canal Authority has launched a self-financed widen- A Hidden Dictator ing expansion project worth US$5.5 billion, to be inaugurated in 2014- The Invasion of Panamá BY FERNANDO BERGUIDO 2015. This expansion will allow the transit of much larger ships (known to canal users as “post Panamax”). A majority of the Panamanian people ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1989, FOUR U.S. approved this expansion in a nation- military officials decided to go for- din al referendum. ner at the Marriott Hotel in Panama City. Many U.S. high level government One of them never came back. officials of both Democratic and For more than two years, political Republican administrations have instability had swept the country. Pro- visited the Panamá-owned canal and testers marched against the dictatorship have publicly declared that it’s run- in the capital and other cities. When ex- ning better than ever. colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera accused Not too long ago a good friend the dictator, General Manuel Noriega, from New York came to visit me. It of drug trafficking and the murder of was his first visit to Panamá. As I the popular doctor and guerrilla fighter took him around the city sights, he Hugo Spadafora, his declarations became was constantly exclaiming “I never the spark for the formation of a pacific expected this!” Then I said “now I’m united front for the return to democracy. going to take you to see something Popular protests kept up through the that will make you very proud to be May 1989 elections, arbitrarily annulled an American, and makes me very by the government after its candidates Above: Monsignor Laboa greets women; Right: Demonstration by University of proud to be a Panamanian.” lost 2 to 1 to the opposition. Panamá students, professors and staff I gave him a tour of the Panama Economically, Panamanians were against General Manuel Antonio Noriega Canal; he saw the organization, the experiencing the worst crisis in our his- as part of the Cruzada Civilista, July 1, 1987 widening project, and how the origi- tory, and diplomatic relations with the nal engineering still works wonders. United States were at a historic low to make an escape. He took a wrong turn. When we were driving away, he point. At the time, Noriega had also been That landed him near the Panamanian became very emotional, declaring accused of drug trafficking and money military headquarters in El Chorrillo, “you were so right: I feel so proud… laundering by U.S. criminal prosecutors where Panamanian soldiers opened fire. as you do. You know, this has to be in Miami and Tampa. That same year, on A bullet from an AK-47 hit the back of the most successful peaceful foreign two separate occasions, groups of Pana- the vehicle and penetrated Paz’s neck. A policy achievement in the history of manian officials had tried to overthrow second bullet had struck Captain Had- the U.S…it’s a shame the great major- the general through military uprisings, dad in the foot, but he kept on driving. ity of Americans don’t even know but they failed both times. The Impala reached the Canal Zone in about it.” Following the pleasant dinner at the only a few minutes, carrying a bleed- Marriott, U.S. Marine captain Richard ing and wounded passenger in the back Roberto Eisenmann is the founder Haddad was driving the Chevrolet Impa- seat and the wounded man at the wheel. of the Panamanian daily La Prensa. la back to their headquarters at Fort When they got to Hospital Gorgas, Paz A 1986 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, Clayton. Army Captain Barry Rainwater, was already dead. he was honored with a lifetime sat by his side. In the back seat were Navy Without knowing it, these four men achievement award by Fundación Lieutenant Michael Wilson and Marine had changed the course of Panamanian Fórum de Periodistas por la Libertad First Lieutenant Robert Paz. The car was history. The death of a Marine first lieu- de Expresión e Información of Pan- stopped at a roadblock set up by the Pan- tenant provided the excuse for the U.S. amá for his continued commitment amanian military near the Avenida de government to occupy the country by to freedom of expression and infor- los Mártires (Avenue of the Martyrs) on force. On December 15, the day prior to mation. After his Nieman fellowship, the border between Panama City and the the incident, Noriega had himself named Eisenmann was exiled from Panamá old Canal Zone. To avoid being detained Chief of Government. The same legisla- a second time due to reprisals from by Panamanian Defense Force soldiers, tive assembly that granted him that post the Noriega regime. Haddad stepped on the gas of the Impala had declared a “state of war” between the

14 ReVista SPRING 2013 A Hidden Dictator

The Invasion of Panamá BY FERNANDO BERGUIDO

United States and Panamá. In Washing- nians heard constant rumors about an pro-democracy movements was unprec- ton, on the night of the death of second impending U.S. military action against edented among diplomats and especially lieutenant Paz, the White House lament- Noriega. Although a military invasion (in so for a Papal Nuncio. ed the incident, but described it as an iso- the old U.S. imperialist parlance) seemed My friendship with him grew even lated event that would not lead to mili- improbable, the threats, uprisings and stronger as I began to practice law. An tary retaliation. The statement was a trap confidential meetings that preceded the intelligent and astute man, Laboa was to catch the Panamanians off guard. decision lent a certain weight to these a consummate diplomat, skilled in the On Sunday, December 17, after a speculations about some type of use of strategies and subtleties of his career, Christmas party with his family, Presi- force. For the United States, the situation although he could also quickly turn into dent George H.W. Bush met secretly with with Noriega had become untenable. a frank and direct interlocutor. In Pan- Secretary of State James Baker, Defense Behind the scenes, as the Panamanian amá, he took on the cause of democra- Secretary Dick Cheney, Chairman of the military, opposition leaders and U.S. cy as his own. By 1998, the nuncio had Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell and officials had tried to reach a “negotiated” included me in the circle of friends who Vice President Dan Quayle. At the end of solution to the political crisis, there was had breakfast with him every morning the meeting, Bush ordered the invasion. always one key player: Archbishop José in his residence. His terrace was a space While the last strategic details were being Sebastián Laboa. where leaders of the Cruzada Civilista, a put in place, the decision was kept totally Laboa had been Papal Nuncio, the loose anti-Noriega coalition of business, secret. On December 19, the mobilization Vatican’s ambassador in Panamá, for professional and church organizations, of troops began. More than 27,000 sol- more than six years, an unusually long would encounter political opposition diers took part. Military action began at time for a career diplomat. I’d met leaders. Guillermo Endara, the presiden- 1 in the morning on Wednesday the 20th. him in my university days during anti- tial candidate who had won the subse- All throughout 1989, we Panama- military protests. His sympathy for the quently annulled elections in May, was

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one of those guests in December 1989. Some of the most conspicuous opposition leaders became refugees or “guests” in the nunciature. Every December, the nuncio used to spend a Christmas vacation in San Sebas- tián with his family. The year 1989 had been a particularly intense one for Laboa, who was constantly being called upon by different groups to help find a political and diplomatic way out of the crisis. The night Laboa left for Spain, Endara, the head of the political opposition, approached him, asking: “Monsignor, if the invasion comes, what are we to do?” The nuncio, a man of medium build, hugged the huge Endara, telling him, “Don’t worry; if something happens, I’ll come back right away.” And he kept his promise. The minute the news reached Spain, Laboa began to organize his return. It was not easy. All commercial flights had been suspended, and civilian airports in Panamá had been shut down on orders of the U.S. military. Laboa traveled from San Sebastián to Madrid, where he took a flight to Miami. There he was taken to the military base in Homestead, Florida, where he boarded a military plane, arriving back in Panamá on December 23. Laboa landed in a transformed country under U.S. military occupation. His last guest, Guillermo Endara, had been sworn in as the president of Panamá, managing to set up a civilian government in the midst of chaos and a power vacuum. U.S. troops had not been able to take Manuel Antonio Noriega prisoner. He was nowhere to be found. The Unit- ed States had offered a million dollar reward to anyone who turned him in or gave information leading to his capture. On the afternoon of December 23, I talked with Laboa by phone. Christmas was rapidly approaching. He told me about his odyssey to get back to Panamá and then said he wanted to ask me for a favor. Before he said a word, I asked in a joking way, referring to Noriega, “And Santa Claus hasn’t come calling?” I

Demonstrator’s sign reads: “This is not democracy; my name is Panama.”

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always liked to tease him about the quan- new foreign minister, Julio Linares. Lin- of Mario Rognoni, a man close to Noriega. tity and diversity of guests he took in. ares’ task was urgent: to explain the ori- Tribaldos and Rognoni had gone to school He didn’t find the question very funny. gin and position of the new government together. Rognoni insisted on talking to He answered with a peeved tone, “How to the international community. And Laboa, saying it was very important. could such a thing even occur to you? This Laboa had a brilliant idea. Noriega was asking for refuge. He put would be the last place on earth Noriega The nuncio was the dean of the dip- it as a condition that the nuncio personal- would ever come.” He was annoyed because lomatic corps and therefore was able to ly get him in the embassy car. Laboa knew just before his departure to Spain, the rela- convoke the rest of the ambassadors to a that as long as Noriega was still a fugitive, tions between the Panamanian church and meeting on December 24 in the nuncia- he might be able to flee to the mountains the dictator had hit rock bottom, so much ture. Once they were assembled, Linares and form some sort of counter-offensive. so that the nuncio had ceased all commu- would arrive as an invited guest, thus Another risk was the possibility—at nication with the military. Yet I kept on enabling the first diplomatic contact least we thought so then—that he could teasing the nuncio despite his annoyance. between the diplomatic community and encounter some U.S. troops and engage in “Well, if he calls, tell him to come over the new government. armed combat, perhaps even passing into because this time there’s a reward. Can you “Can you accompany me tomorrow history as an anti-Yankee martyr. imagine what the church could do with a and help me prepare?” he asked me. There Laboa accepted sending the car, but million dollars?” would be twenty ambassadors arriving instead of going himself, he sent Father Changing the subject, he asked, “Can the next day and he only could count on Villanueva dressed up as nuncio. Mean- you stop by tomorrow?” Recently arrived, his secretary and two nuns to get ready. while, the ambassadors had begun to Laboa was already immersed in his next To get to the nunciature, I had to get arrive, and we asked them to park their diplomatic task to help get the new gov- across the city filled with military posts cars outside the wall of the nunciature. We ernment recognized. and civilian blockades (massive looting saw the car arrive, driven by Laboa’s sec- Most of the world’s governments had occurred and residential neighbor- retary Joseph Spiteri, with Father Villan- denounced the U.S. military invasion. hoods had erected barricades, cutting off ueva in the passenger seat. I had no idea Thus, no Latin American or European traffic at innumerable points throughout that Noriega was hiding in the back seat. government had established diplomatic the city). When I arrived, Laboa was very He was immediately taken upstairs to the relations with the new Panamanian tense. The residence was filled with people, same guestroom that Guillermo Endara government. In my opinion, there was and some who had collaborated with the had occupied only two weeks before. a shameful double standard. While a military regime had shown up to ask for Only a few minutes had gone by when military dictatorship was in place, even refuge. Panamá’s Archbishop Marcos G. U.S. troops laid siege to the nunciature. when elections were annulled, when the McGrath, outspoken anti-Noriega priest I was still at the door when trucks filled worst abuses were committed against Father Javier Villanueva and the leader with soldiers ready for combat surround- common citizens, almost all of the democratic governments in the region kept a complicit silence. When the dictatorship was finally overthrown and it was clear These nations punished their fellow Latin American that the United States would pull out country, Panamá, instead of the aggressor. its troops and that a legitimately elected government—which had clearly won the May elections—would be installed, it was of the Cruzada Civilista, César Tribaldos, ed the residence. Two helicopters flew only then that the rest of Latin America were already there. The minute I arrived, overhead. A U.S. military official gave decided to break off diplomatic rela- the nuncio asked me to receive the ambas- an order: “Nobody comes in; nobody tions. Of course, the armed invasion was sadors and invite them to a salon on the comes out of this place.” (Later, we were a legitimate cause for repudiation by the first floor. When most of them had arrived, screened and allowed to leave). international community. But instead of I received the new foreign minister. The moment was surreal. Inside suspending relations with the aggressor, But just before Julio Linares arrived, the building, the accredited diplomatic the United States, these nations punished another guest came in. In the midst of corps was engaging in an informal and their fellow Latin American country, all the preparation for the meeting, César unauthorized meeting with the new for- Panamá, the victim, just at the moment Tribaldos had answered the telephone. eign minister. The ambassador and Lin- when it sought to establish a civilian and The person on the other end of the line ares had no idea Noriega was upstairs. democratically elected government. In asked to talk to the nuncio, but did not And suddenly, all of us inside had come this context of international repudiation, want to say who was calling. Tribaldos, under siege by the U.S. Army because Laboa received a telephone call from the however, recognized the voice. It was that the church had offered protection to

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Members of the anti-riot squad of Panamá’s Defense Forces beat up Cruzada Civilista demonstrators during the struggle against the government of Manuel Antonio Noriega.

Panamá’s most wanted fugitive, the very I opened my doors to you, when I pro- to blare rock music at the nunciature 24 man who had persecuted many of us just tected you from your persecutors, he also hours a day as part of the psychological a short time earlier. has that right...he also is the son of God... war against Noriega, who had then been Tribaldos, one of the leaders of the because this is the house of God, you see... inside for four days). When I got to San Cruzada Civilista, was one of those. He this is what we call Christian charity.’ It Agustín, I was finally taken to the office protested the decision to shelter Noriega. wasn’t until then that I managed to calm of General Mark Cisneros, commander “I went up to [Laboa’s] office at the very myself and accept his position.” of the operations. “I am a friend of the moment he was communicating his deci- Most Panamanians did not agree with nuncio,” I explained. “He’s asked me to sion to give Noriega asylum to the Vatican. Laboa’s decision. The public wanted to come to talk about something impor- That showed me that he had made the see the former dictator in jail, punished tant.” I was granted permission. decision without consulting his superiors. or dead. A few days later, Laboa called, The trajectory between San Agustín He explained his decision was a measure asking me to come. I had not returned and the Vatican’s embassy felt intermi- to avoid the formation of pro-Noriega to the nunciature because it was so heav- nable, even though it was only a couple of guerrillas groups and to end the politi- ily guarded by U.S. troops and getting in city blocks away. Soldiers hovered every- cal crisis that could cause many deaths. and out was very difficult. Laboa didn’t where, armed and pointing their weapons Nevertheless, I took advantage of the pri- want to talk over the phone. at the nunciature. I felt their eyes on me; vacy of his office to question why he had When I arrived at the nuncio’s resi- the racket of the rock music grew more received this assassin Noriega, who had dence, military officials ordered me to intense. When I got to the door facing the caused so many deaths, disappearances, go to the San Agustín School, which was Avenida Balboa, soldiers checked me for beheadings and the evil that had engulfed serving as a headquarters, to get permis- the third time and let me through. Some our country and so many people...it was sion to go inside. No one moved inside; nuns let me in and went to look for Laboa. the first time we had ever argued and he everything was quiet. The tranquility was At the threshold of the guestroom, a small responded to each and every question: broken by the noise of rock music heard person in shorts gazed out with curiosity. ‘It’s a matter of Christian charity; just as at a distance (U.S. commanders decided It was Noriega. He wanted to see who had

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come inside. It was the first time I had was inside, but I will carry the nature of to protect you, they are outside to make seen him in person. There he stood, the the contents to my grave. However, I can sure you don’t escape.” former belligerent and defiant dictator, say this much: Laboa suggested a course “But if all these people force their way who until the week before had believed of action. inside, you’ll protect me, right, Monsi- himself the master of Panamá and all its Afterwards, I tried to meet with For- gnor?” insisted Noriega. Laboa told me inhabitants, all powerful and immune to eign Minister Linares to attempt to break that if the mobs got inside, they would punishment, macabre and unscrupulous, the impasse. Outside the walls of the most certainly hang them both, Noriega trembling beside the door to his bedroom. nunciature, the public was growing more and himself. And he added, “I have dedi- He looked at me and scurried inside. and more restless and angry. A great cated my life to Jesus Christ, and I am Linares and Laboa, both experts in march was being planned to demand willing to give my life for him, but not international law, knew that there was no that the Vatican hand over Noriega to for you.” Before then, Laboa and Noriega easy solution. After a conversation with the Panamanian government. The music had talked extensively about the former the nuncio, it became clear to me that din was unbearable. When I crossed the dictator’s future, about the possibility— Laboa recognized the extent of Noriega’s street, one of the soldiers brought me in the best of cases—that he would spend crimes and saw that they should not back to General Cisneros, who looked me months or even years in the nunciature, meet with impunity. The government in the eyes and asked me in Spanish in as the Peruvian APRA political party could ask the Vatican to turn over Norie- the style of a most friendly interrogation, leader Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre had ga on charges of non-political crimes, but “Is there something you want to tell me? once done in the Colombian Embassy in the new government didn’t have secu- Or is there something I need to know?” Lima. And they also discussed the worst rity forces and had no control over the I told him no, but he kept questioning. of cases, namely that a mob would enter prisons; there was no way of guaran- He wanted to know what was going on the nunciature and drag him through teeing to the Vatican Noriega’s physical inside the house, why I had visited the the streets of Panamá. Thus, bit by bit, wellbeing or the possibility of a fair trial. archbishop. I avoided giving him details. he began convincing Noriega that per- In addition, both Endara and Linares Finally, in the face of his insistence, some- haps the best option would be to turn knew that Noriega’s former subordi- thing occurred to me, “Yes, there is one himself over of his own free will to the nates in the jails might let him escape or thing. The music. You know something, U.S. forces who, after all, would guaran- foment a rebellion. Perhaps the solution General? The loudspeakers are facing the tee that he left alive and that he would was to ask the Vatican to turn Noriega wrong way.” They were aimed at the part receive a fair and impartial trial in Flori- over to the United States to try him for of the residence on the corner of Avenida da. The nuncio would not expel him nor drug trafficking in Florida. Balboa and Vía Italia, precisely at the would he oblige him to give himself up. This suggestion clashed with both the bedrooms of the nuncio and his secretary. It was Noriega’s decision. Church’s longstanding tradition of offer- “I think we can change the position to the On January 3, 1990, ten days after ing refuge to the persecuted and the dip- other side of the house,” he replied. Cisne- he had arrived hidden in a blanket in lomatic tradition of political asylum. And ros immediately understood what I was the back seat of a car to the nunciature, how could the Vatican surrender an asy- trying to tell him. He let me go. Manuel Antonio Noriega surrendered to lum seeker to a foreign occupying force? I went on to see Linares. I don’t know the U.S. Army, which turned him over to Moreover, the Panamanian constitution how persuasive my conversation was with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to clearly spells out that the government can- the minister or the effect of Laboa’s per- stand trial in Miami. not turn over its citizens for extradition. sonal letter. What is certain is that Norie- On September 16, 1992, Noriega was Occupying U.S. forces might be able to ga’s status was not resolved until five days sentenced to prison in Miami on drug enter the nunciature and take out Norie- later. On January 2, 1990, a great march and racketeering charges. Extradited to ga by force. But this would be a unaccept- demanding that Noriega be surrendered France in 2010 to answer money laun- able breach of the extraterritorial right of reached the outer limit of the nunciature dering charges, he returned to Panamá embassies, and the United States was not surrounded by the U.S. soldiers. in December 2011. He is now serving a about to take such an action. So it seemed Inside the house—I learned later—a 20-year sentence in El Renacer Prison for that Noriega could remain in the embassy frightened Noriega, apprehensive that crimes committed during the dictatorship. for months or even years. the crowds could break through the mili- Archbishop Laboa and I talked about tary barriers and enter the residence in Fernando Berguido is a former pub- the complicated situation for two hours. a furious rage, tried to get reassurance lisher and editor of La Prensa, a past Before I left, the archbishop wrote out from the nuncio that the U.S. soldiers president of Transparency Internation- a handwritten note to Foreign Minister would not permit the protesters to get al-Panamá, and a member of the Truth Linares. I put the note in an envelope and in. The archbishop answered, “Don’t fool Comission of his country. This article is slipped it into my pocket. I knew what yourself, they [the soldiers] aren’t there an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir.

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A Tale of Two Flags

The Last Hurdle BY JORGE RITTER

WHEN IN 1995 PRESIDENT ERNESTO PÉREZ authority (Articles II and III of the Hay- Balladares appointed me to head the Bunau Varilla treaty). commission responsible for the transition of the Panama Canal from U.S. to Panamá grew economically as an Panamanian hands, it never crossed my independent nation during the follow- mind that yet another negotiation—un- ing decades. However, the treaty laid out expected at the time—loomed on the ho- that in the part of the Panamanian ter- rizon, over an issue that had been at the ritory that was the Canal Zone only the center of U.S.-Panamá relations for an U.S. flag should be flown. Citizens- sym to separate Panama City from the Canal entire century: flags. bolically placed small Panamanian flags Zone—decided to cross over with a Pana- It had been 18 years since President in the area, but they were unable to raise manian flag demanding that it be raised Jimmy Carter and General Omar Torrijos one on a flagpole until President Dwight in Balboa High School where, in violation had signed a treaty recognizing Panamá’s Eisenhower authorized flying both flags of the executive order, only the U.S. flag full sovereignty over the canal by the end on one location at the border that sepa- was flying. School authorities and- stu of the century, thus ending 75 years of con- rated Panama City from the Canal Zone. dents turned them down; the Panama- frontations. A new special federal agency, Nonetheless, discontent kept grow- nian flag was torn, words led to pushing the Panama Canal Commission, was then ing among Panamanian citizens, while and shoving. The news about the torn flag to take over the operation of the canal for Congress, the military and Zonians, as spread like wildfire and riots broke out. By 20 years. Both countries engaged imme- residents of the Panama Canal Zone were midafternoon hundreds of outraged Pan- diately in pursuing a seamless transition, known, strongly opposed further chang- amanians tried to storm into the Canal a bi-national Board of Directors (five es. Eventually, on the advice of the State Zone, throwing stones and other objects. Americans and four Panamanians) was Department, President John F. Kennedy The Canal Zone Police and later the U.S. appointed to gradually transfer responsi- and President Roberto F. Chiari agreed Army fired live bullets back. Twenty-two bilities once held by Americans to Pana- that the Panamanian flag should be flown Panamanians were killed and more than manian personnel. Everything seemed to alongside with the U.S. flag in all non-mili- 500 injured. President Chiari severed dip- be on track and moving smoothly until a tary sites within the Canal Zone. An execu- lomatic relations with the United States, last minute glitch emerged. tive order was issued to this effect, but and Panamá thus became the only Latin Zonians refused to comply. Their defiance American country to do so, to this date. The original U.S.-Panamá treaty was was supported by outraged lawmakers Three months later, President Lyndon signed just 15 days after Panamá’s inde- and encouraged by a district court ruling Johnson agreed to negotiate a new treaty. pendence from Colombia. The United in the Canal Zone stating that “the flying Diplomatic relations were re-established., States was granted sovereign rights over of two national flags side by side in a dis- but it was more than 14 years before a new a 50-mile-long, ten-mile-wide stretch of puted territory for an undeclared purpose agreement could be reached. By disman- land known as the Panama Canal Zone: is a position of weakness that can lead but tling the Canal Zone, the Torrijos-Carter in perpetuity the use, occupation and to further misunderstanding and discord” treaty settled the flag issue once and for control of a zone of land and land under (Doyle v. Fleming). Clearly, Panamanians all. Not surprisingly, a full article (VII) of water for the construction maintenance, were not the only ones irked over the flag the treaty was devoted to the subject: operation, sanitation and protection of issue; the Zonians too felt that their sov- The entire territory of the Republic of [the] Canal…and all the rights, power ereignty was in jeopardy. To make things Panama, including the areas the use of and authority within the zone which the worse they allowed the two flags to be which the Republic of Panama makes United States would possess and exer- raised in one isolated location, ignoring an available to the United States of Amer- cise if it were the sovereign of the terri- order issued by the Canal Zone governor to ica pursuant to this Treaty and related tory within which said lands and waters the effect that neither flag should be raised. agreements, shall be under the flag of are located to the entire exclusion of On January 9, 1964, a group of high the Republic of Panama, and conse- the exercise by the Republic of Panama school students from the Instituto Nacio- quently such flag always shall occupy the of any such sovereign rights, power or nal—located on the very street that used position of honor.

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Left: Raising the Panamanian flag in commemoration of January 9; Right: A mural honors the high school students who demanded the return of sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. High school student leader Ascanio Arosemena was one of the Panamanians who died on January 9, 1964, now known as the Day of the Martyrs.

But the treaty had to pass constitu- an end to a century-long special relation- and the Panamanian flag raised simulta- tional requirements in both countries: ship, both fruitful and tumultuous: noon, neously. That way there would be no risk approval by two thirds of the U.S. Senate Panamá time, December 31, 1999. of booing, and the timing would also quite and a national referendum in Panamá. But as the day approached and cel- accurately reflect what was occurring at Advocates of the treaty in Panamá cam- ebrations were planned, flags again the moment, the end of the U.S. adminis- paigned on a very effective slogan, more took the center of a new and final nego- tration and the beginning of the Panama- like a magic mantra: “only one territory, tiation. It had to do with the ceremony nian one. The response was still no. only one flag.” By a margin of 2 to 1 Pana- marking the end of the treaty and of the Since the treaty was still in effect, U.S. manians approved the referendum. The U.S. military presence in Panamá. On officials had the last word. They decided vote was much closer in the U.S. Senate: behalf of the Panamanian members of that the U.S. flag would be lowered the only one more vote than the required 67. the Board of Directors of the Panama day before, never to be raised again. So The Torrijos-Carter treaty called for Canal Commission, I proposed what I at 5 p.m. on December 30, 1999, the flag a 20-year transition period. During this thought was a very simple ceremony. In was lowered in a sober and solemn cer- time a constitutional amendment was fact we never imagined it would trigger emony attended only by diplomatic and drafted, as well as laws and regulations a controversy at a time when Panamani- military personnel, and of course by the for the canal to operate properly when ans and Americans alike were congratu- Panamanian board members and high- transferred to Panamá. Under the lead- lating themselves on the success of the ranking executives of both countries serv- ership of the chairman of the board of transition. To symbolize the ending of ing at the Panama Canal Commission. directors, Joe Reeder (1995-1998), at the U.S. administration and the begin- The following morning, for the first the time Under Secretary of the Army, ning of the Panamanian one, it seemed time in almost a hundred years, the Pan- the United States fully and enthusiasti- only natural that the U.S. flag be lowered amanian flag flew alone in the canal area. cally cooperated with Panamá in mak- and the Panamanian flag be raised in It was the end of an era of peaks and val- ing preparations. As head of the Pana- its place in front of the Panama Canal’s leys, friendship and controversy, pros- manian team, and later as the board’s administration building. To our surprise perity and mourning. A tale of two flags vice-chairman, I believe we honored our the proposal was vehemently rejected by with a happy ending when the slogan mission statement, truly living up to our U.S. members of the board and by diplo- became real and achieved the dream of motto, One Team One Mission. matic and military officials. They feared several generations: Only one territory, During the transition period (1979- that it could be regarded as surrendering only one flag. 1999), both flags flew side by side in rather than a celebration, followed by all public buildings and government booing and mocking by the large crowd Jorge Ritter is a Panamanian lawyer, facilities, including military bases. This expected to attend. I argued that that the writer, columnist and lecturer. He served showed there was a joint administration mood would not be one of revenge, let as Ambassador to the UN, Minister of of the operation and defense of the canal, alone mockery, but one of friendship and Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs. and eventually the canal would be hand- gratitude. The response was no. As Minister for Canal Affairs and ed over to Panamá as had been happen- We then tried, just hours before the member of the Board of Directors of the ing gradually with the military bases. The ceremony was to take place, another Panama Canal Commission he was treaty specified the day and hour in which suggestion to overcome the apparent intimately involved in the process of the handover would take place, putting impasse: the U.S. flag was to be lowered transferring the Canal to Panamá.

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Who Remembers Panamá?

Returning the Canall BY DON BOHNING

THERE WAS A TIME, MANY DECADES AGO, WHEN French businessman Philippe Bunau- Canal Zone were essentially U. S. citizens the Isthmian country of Panamá—di- Varilla was authorized by Panama’s new and West Indians who worked in the viding the Americas—made near daily government to negotiate a treaty with Zone or on the canal itself. headlines from Canada to Argentina. the United States. The Hay-Bunau Indeed, anti-American riots occurred Most of the attention focused on the Varilla Treaty gave the United States in the 1960s, creating pressure on the U.S. Panama Canal, one of the world’s great- authority to build a canal through Pan- and Panamanian governments for coop- est engineering feats; a project begun in amá, a project begun by the French in erative action in resolving the situation. 1904 and completed in 1914 by the U.S. 1881 but later abandoned. U.S. President Jimmy Carter even- Corps of Engineers. Completion of the canal meant that tually signed a treaty in 1977 which As the Panama Canal prepares for ships going from the Atlantic to the agreed to return 60 percent of the Canal a major expansion with its third set of Pacific no longer had to travel the 8,000 Zone to Panamá in 1979. From 1979 to locks in 2014, it’s worth looking back at miles to get from one ocean to the other 1999 a bi-national canal commission its history and an unusual connection by going around Cape Horn at the south- ran the canal with a U.S. leader the first with U.S. actor John Wayne. ern tip of South America. decade, and a Panamanian administra- From 1821, Panamá had been a part The terms of the original U.S.-Pan- tor for the second decade. of the union of Latin American coun- amá agreement provided for perpetual The canal and remaining territory of tries called Republic of Gran Colombia. control of a zone five miles wide on either the Canal Zone were returned to Panamá Early in the 20th century, after Colom- side of the canal. on December 31, 1999. By 1976, more bia rejected U.S. plans to build a canal News accounts at the time noted that than nine out of every ten canal employ- across the Isthmus of Panamá, the Unit- division of the country into two parts ees were Panamanian, helping to make ed States supported a revolution that led by the U.S. territory of the Canal Zone the transition to full Panamanian control to the independence of Panamá in 1903. would create tension. Residents of the much easier.

22 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/ERIC BATISTA THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

“One of my clearest recollections regarding the treaties goes back to a Sen- ate delegation visit to Panama following the signing of the treaties. The delegation was invited to Contadora Island [where the treaties had been negotiated] by then leader of Panama, General Omar Torrijos. During the visit at a luncheon session with Torrijos, he announced there would be a special guest ... someone well known to the American delegation. Sure enough, when the time came, the special guest was none other than John Wayne. He and Torrijos had known each other for sometime. [As I recall, Wayne owned property in Pana- ma]. Anyway, Torrijos then spoke to the visiting Senators. And in the course of his remarks Wayne went out of his way to say how much he disagreed with the views of Ronald Reagan about the Panama issue. In short, Wayne encouraged the Senators to approve the treaties and disregard the views of people like Reagan. Later on, as I recall, Wayne sent a letter to every Senator expressing his support for the Canal agreements.

Left: Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal; Above: A Panama Canal Authority (ACP) worker “Wayne’s support was obviously a big extending cables at the Miraflores locks. September 7 commemorates the anniversary of the help. And even more important was the Torrijos-Carter Treaties in which the Canal was passed over to Panamanian control. support of the Dept. of Defense, whose witnesses repeatedly made the point that the U.S. security interests in the Canal The 1977 treaty also established the ate floor, making this effort the second required open access to the waterway [as Canal as a neutral international water- longest treaty debate in the nation’s his- provided in the Neutrality Treaty] rather way that guaranteed safe passage to any tory [bested only by the Versailles Treaty than ownership of the Canal. vessel, even in time of war. Since the 1999 because it extended from one Congress “Also, let me make the point that transfer of control, the United States to the next]. As the principal Senate approval of the Panama Treaties was in and Panamá jointly shared the duties of staffer on the agreements, I was on the very large part a bipartisan efforts, thanks defending the canal. Senate for all 38 days, preceded by sev- to the cooperation between then Major- Robert Dockery, the executive assis- eral weeks of Committee hearings dur- ity Leader Robert C. Byrd [D-W.V.] and tant to the chief of staff for the U.S. Sen- ing which testimony was received from then Minority Leader Howard Baker ate Committee on Foreign Relations at more than 100 witnesses. [R.TENN]. the time of the canal transfer agreement, “On June 16, 1978, some 4,000 guests “The Canal treaties entered into force and now a Florida resident, remembers attended the ceremony in Panama City at noon, December 31, 1999. They are the event well. providing for the deliverance of ‘the a testament to the ability of a great and Dockery noted in an email: “The instruments of ratification, of the two powerful nation to treat a much smaller, two treaties were signed in the fall of Panama Canal Treaties...’ less powerful nation with justice, dignity 1977 and the Senate gave its advice and I was one of those guests. It was a joy- and respect. Jimmy Carter and Omar consent to ratification in the spring of ous event. Later in the day both [Jimmy] Torrijos deserve a standing ovation,” 1978. The treaty concerning the Per- Carter and [Omar] Torrijos [Panama’s Dockery concluded. manent Neutrality and Operation of military leader at the time] spoke to a the Panama Canal and the Panama large gathering in downtown Panama Don Bohning is the former foreign edi- Canal Treaty were approved after 38 City [I think the exact location is called tor of the Miami Herald and a longtime days of continuous debate on the Sen- Plaza Cinco de Mayo]. reporter in Latin America.

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The Challenge of Inequality

A Photoessay BY LORNE MATALON

SOUTHERN DARIÉN PROVINCE, AN EMERALD but words,” he says showing a visitor his maze of rainforest and a crucible of correspondence with authorities. The indigenous life, personifies inequal- school has only one shabby room for ity in wealth in modern Panamá. “We’re fifteen children. In 2008, one student alone here,” says Grimaldo Contrera, a in the village was awarded a university 40-year-old cacique with jet-black hair scholarship. Contrera says Panamá has and weathered hands that testify to life money to spend. He says he knows so in rugged Darién. from listening to the drumbeat of upbeat “The state pledged to help us rebuild business stories on radio stations broad- our schoolhouse. Nothing has come here casting from the capital.

24 ReVista SPRING 2013 ARTIST CREDIT NAME AND URL ARTIST CREDIT NAME AND URL DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 25 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

26 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY LORNE MATALON THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

Yet, Panama’s education system is ranked 62nd out of 65 countries by the Organ- isation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an inter-governmental agency. In villages like Contrera’s, in the urban slums and the coastal islands, the potential for upward mobility is fro- zen without a decent school. The United Nations says 32 percent of the country’s 3.6 million people live in poverty. The question isn’t always one of resources. The country is indeed growing by leaps and bounds—an average of nine percent annually for the last six years. Yet, President Ricardo Martinelli continues to face withering accusations of corruption. Low-income Panamanians widely believe funds that could be ear- marked for education and social programs are going elsewhere. The government instituted $100 mon- thly payments to citizens over the age of 70 who don’t receive a pension. The government says 85,000 people are enrolled in the program. In Panamá, one hundred dollars is equal to about 25 percent of the country’s minimum wage, or 14 percent of its per capita GDP. Critics say that’s a mea- ger payout given Panamá’s wealth. From the perspective of Panama City, the country’s potential to provide for all its citizens would seem limitless. Nests of construction cranes tower over creep- ing urban sprawl, and the canal is going through a major expansion. “We’re blessed,” says Captain Felipe Joseph, a lanky 54-year-old tugboat pilot on the Panama Canal. A lawyer and un-

Far left (top): Contrera family children swim- ming; their family wants to educate them in a better schoolhouse; Far left (middle): Armed Border Police cross tributary of Río Pirre on patrol looking for Colombian insur- gents in Darién Province. Panamá has spent a lot of money on these patrols and the border with Colombia is far more secure than it was in 2009 when Martinelli took office; Far left (bottom): Rundown school house, El Real, Darién; Left: The Wilcox building, once a symbol of wealth in Colón, is now condemned. About 100 squatters live here. PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

Counter-clockwise from top left: Captain Felipe Joseph, Panama Canal tugboat pilot, at Miraflores locks; modern skyline contrasts with working-class apartment blocks; electrician Miguel Marandola in the tunnel for the new Panama City Metro; the first man-made islands in Latin America will boast 138 luxurious properties.

28 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY LORNE MATALON THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

ion leader, he represented canal workers as a member of the transition team that negotiated with the United States on the canal handover. Speaking of the canal’s new locks set to open in 2015 he says, “New locks will mean more money for Panamá and from there the idea is to make sure that profits go to improve the country.” Add to that economic palette the Zona Libre in Colón, the largest free zone in the Americas, an official currency of the U.S. dollar, an ambitious infrastructure expansion and the benefit of a strategic location at the intersection of two oceans and two continents. Crewman Gabriel Simons asks “With everything this country has, with so few people, how on earth are there poor people here?” Manuel Avila, a grizzled 60-year-old taxista in Colón asks the same question. To make a living, he painted his car yellow and bought a removable rooftop taxi light. “They (the politicians) have no idea what daily life is really like if you don’t have money,” he says. “This country has what it needs to fix things but not the will.” Roberto Brenes, head of the Panama Stock Exchange, says members of the business community, factions of orga- nized labor and activists for the poor share a measure of disdain for the current administration. The business sector is increasingly agitated over allegations of corruption. The poor point to the allegations as examples of money diverted to entrenched special interests at the expense of social improvement. “We have a First World business sector with good workers who make us competitive,” he says. “But we have a Third World political class. They have histori- cally protected their own interests without really thinking of society in general.” “As we get closer to the end of his term (in 2014)” says Brenes of Martinelli’s administration, “you’ll see criticism mount.” At a high society wedding, one guest who did not want his name used, said, “Every president does something to get

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30 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY LORNE MATALON THE CANAL: SHAPING HISTORY

richer. But at least this president is doing something that will last,” referring to infrastructure improvement. “I am certain if you ask everyone here about Mar- tinelli and the economy of Panamá, you’ll find most people back him.” A family friend said the wedding cost upwards of US $200,000. The men and women serving the food on this night said they made four dollars an hour.

Lorne Matalon is a contributor to the Fronteras Desk, an NPR initiative examining politics, demographics and the economy along the US-Mexico border. He is the former Mexico and Central America correspondent for The World, produced by the BBC World Service and NPR member station WGBH, Boston.

Clockwise from top left: The Panama Canal looking toward the Pacific near the site of the new locks; bride at high-society wedding, Panama City; a welder ekes out a living in the informal economy; foreign money has triggered a real estate boom. Shown is the facade of a building in downtown Casco Viejo, increasingly gentrified at expense of longtime, poorer residents.

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32 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA / BIENVENIDO VELASCO ETHNIC DIVERSITY

The territory that became the nation of Panamá was founded in ethnic diversity, as many indigenous tribes inhabited the area. With the building of the Panama Canal and the rise of the country as a commercial hub, immigrants from many parts of the world came to establish new lives and businesses. Here is a look at some of that ethnic diversity.

n Panamanian Culture 34 n Muslims and Jews in Panamá 37 n The Distortion of History 38 n Encounters with Guna Celebrations 40 n The Chinese of Panamá Also Have a Story to Tell… 46

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/EDUARDO GRIMALDO PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

Panamanian Culture

A Hot Hybrid BY MARÍA MERCEDES DE CORRÓ

PANAMANIAN CULTURE HAS ROOTS IN AT LEAST to the other, with boys and girls expected the Ngabe women, as well as in their art three continents. It’s a heterogeneous to move from baptism and communion crafts: the molas of the Gunas, textiles culture, embracing elements from vari- to confirmation and wedding. Region- which use the technique of reverse appli- ous communities that coexist peace- al festivities—the patronales—have a cation; the chaquiras (beaded jewelry) fully, if noisily, within one of the small- large pagan component, including binge and the chácaras (string bags) of the est countries in Latin America, both in drinking and dancing, but they center on Ngabe, and even in the baskets woven by terms of land mass and in population. a locally venerated saint honored with the Emberá. It is the result of a blending process that flowers, gifts and processions before the The presence of corn in the local diet has been going on for five centuries, a hy- partying. Even the greatest national and can also be tracked to the native ances- brid that keeps evolving. Singling out the eagerly awaited yearly celebration—the tors, who not only ate it, but drank it in primary ingredients of this blend seems carnaval—is held preceding Lent. the form of an alcoholic beverage called like a good way to decode it. The national dance, el tamborito, is of chicha fuerte. Whether in the form of Spanish ancestry (although with obvious chicheme, tortilla, torreja, bollo, buñuelo GENES DON’T LIE influence from native Indian dances), as or tamal, Panamanians of all social class- In the year 2000, the Instituto del ADN is the much admired pollera. An off-the- es enjoy corn products and eat it as much y del Genoma Humano de la Universidad shoulder top with a full skirt embellished as Europeans do potatoes. de Panamá (University of Panamá’s Insti- with embroidery, lace and ribbons, the To the Afro colonials—descendants tute of DNA and the Human Genome) pollera is a tropical adaptation of the of slaves who were imported to work in did a study to determine what percent- dresses that Spanish women wore in the colonies—and the Afro-Antillean- age each ethnic group had contributed to the genetic pool in the 500 years since the conquistadores disembarked. The researchers came up with a composition Panamanian culture is a heterogeneous one, the result that is 39.4 percent indigenous Indian, of a blending process that has been going on for five 31.2 percent Caucasian, and 29.4 percent black. The most salient characteristics in centuries: a hybrid that has kept evolving. DNA and Panamanian popular culture, as observed genome research have made it possible to track this today, can be traced to these groups. The footprints of the conquistado- evolution scientifically. res (Spanish Caucasian) are the most obvious in Panamá’s popular culture. Indigenous dialects are spoken among the 15th and 16th centuries. One of the Caribbean people who came to work in the Guna, Ngabe, Emberá and Wou- traditional dishes, arroz con pollo (rice the canal—Panamanian culture owes a nan Indian groups—which number with chicken), is a humble cousin of the natural feel for music that makes danc- fewer than 200,000—but Spanish is Valencian paella. Then there is the siesta, ing the national sport; and a way with the undisputed lingua franca. Besides not so common anymore due to the dis- drums and other percussion instruments their language, Spaniards imported their tance between home and workplace, but that mark the beat at parties and resound religion. In a 2012 national survey, 69.9 still something of a Spanish legacy. in the parades celebrating the November percent of the total population declared Panamanian popular culture, as holidays. itself Catholic, followed by 16.4 percent expressed in the way people dress, paint The genome study did not find traces evangelicals and 2.5 percent Adventists. their homes and promote their busi- of Asian, Middle Eastern or Arab genes, At a personal level, Panamanians might nesses, is colorful. And the love of color which could be explained by the inbreed- be pragmatic, even flexible, but they is a trait which might, at least partly, be ing that has characterized these commu- respect the Church and its representa- attributed to its Indian heritage. Bright nities, but they certainly are ingredients tives and follow the rituals: family life colors are used profusely and artisti- in the abstraction called Panamanian follows the sequence from one sacrament cally in the clothing of the Guna and culture.

34 ReVista SPRING 2013 Clockwise from top: Celebrating Carnaval in the streets; a Chinese woman; girl with elaborate hairdo; Afro-Antillean gastronomic fare at the Santa María de Antigua University; a Muslim woman.

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Asians started coming in during the The Panama Canal Zone, a special by saying it is matriarchal. The mother, times of the construction of the trans- U.S. territory that disappeared when the grandmother and even the godmoth- isthmian railway (1850’s) and then dur- the Canal reverted to Panamanian sov- er have important roles. The week previ- ing the excavation of the Panama Canal. ereignty, has been described as the fifth ous to Mother’s Day, which is celebrated The presence of the Chinese immigrant frontier (the others being Costa Rica, on December 8, marks the peak of the as shopkeeper is so common that gro- Colombia, the Pacific Ocean and the holiday season in terms of sales. The cery stores are called chinos or chinitos, Caribbean Sea). Panamanians saw the men, though, are especially privileged, depending on the size of the establish- United States as their natural destination for the women tend to them. ment. Chinese restaurants flourish even for studies, travel and leisure, and hope- The local popular heroes are the in the small rural towns; and the Can- fully for business as well. Interactions boxers—world champions from Ismael tonese, in particular, have so influenced with Costa Rica, on the other hand, were Laguna to Roberto mano de piedra the gastronomic habits of the locals that less common than expected, considering Durán—as well as baseball players like chow mein, fried rice, sweet and sour its geographical proximity. Likewise, the Mariano Rivera, salsa composers such as pork and even chicken feet are generally cultural influence of Mexico, palpable in Rubén Blades and singer Pedrito Altami- popular; and the ”dim sum” on Sundays Central America from Guatemala to San randa, who have captured the essence of is a family tradition for some. José, is less obvious in Panamá in terms Panamanian society in their lyrics. The presence and influence of Jews of music, food or decoration. Racism, which should be most from Europe and especially the Mid- Panamanians do not consider them- improbable in a society where it is very dle East is also noticeable well beyond selves South Americans either. Unlike difficult to draw the line between the the men wearing their “kipas” as they the nations in Bolivar’s dream—Colom- black, mestizo and creole populations, walk to the synagogue on Friday nights. bia, Ecuador and Venezuela—Panamani- does still exist. Panamá has nearly Some local restaurants serve pita bread, ans until recently favored baseball, rath- three million inhabitants, with close to “quibes” and “falafels.” This closely tight er than football, as the national sport, a a million living in or just outside Pan- community is small in numbers, but preference that reveals the cultural nexus ama City. Part of the urban elite, which very influential in economic terms, to the Caribbean. is a powerful minority, is composed of indeed often stereotyped as rich mer- As in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Panamanians of Spanish, but also of chants because of their extensive com- Dominican Republic, coconut, plantains Italian and Greek, origins. Whiter than mercial activity. and yucca are a big part of the local diet. the rest, they’re called rabiblancos. And tropical music—salsa, merengue, Then there are the interioranos, mesti- LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION plena and reggaeton—is not only the one zos (Spanish and native American mix) Panamá’s location between the two most heard at local parties, but also the who live in rural areas; and people oceans and the two subcontinents makes genre in which local musicians thrive. referred to pejoratively as cholos, namely it a natural bridge for the interchanging of Yet it would be a mistake to think of Indians who have left the comarcas and goods. Its history, in this regard, goes back Panamá as a place where women wear adopted Western styles. The mulatos to the fairs of Portobello and all the way to sandals and sundresses and men relax (white and black mix) are a big group the Zona Libre de Colón, the second larg- in Hawaiian shirts or guayaberas. Not and the most recognized victims of rac- est free trade zone in the region. People so. Panamá has two climates: a natural ism. Racism is, in fact, a part of Panama- arrived, stayed or passed by in different one that is as hot and humid as can be; nian culture, but tolerance is as well. It times in history—the colonization, the and an artificial one. Many Panamanians is tolerance that allows a heterogeneous gold rush, the world wars, the construc- live, work, shop and dine in acclimatized population with different, sometimes tion of the railroad and of the Canal— spaces, where temperature emulates opposing beliefs, varied tastes and looks leaving behind words, uses, customs; and a Floridian winter season. Therefore, it to cohabit happily and peacefully in a especially goods. Despite always-present is coat and tie for bankers and lawyers, small, colorful, noisy territory. protectionist groups, Panamanians have and twin sets or suits for the ladies. enjoyed access to goods from all over the Construction is also Miami style, with María Mercedes de Corró has worked world, from Irish linen to Italian luxury an abundance of glass and steel in the for La Prensa since 1995. She has goods to Japanese televisions. Panamá’s financial sector and plenty of concrete in written for various publications, includ- unique geographic position has put it in residential areas. In the capital city, the ing Revista Década, Cordialidad, Banco contact with many cultures, but para- modern high rises coexist with clothes del Istmo and Banco General. In 2009 doxically it has also made it a loner in the drying on the balconies, especially in she published a biography entitled Hasta region, culturally and economically. These poor neighborhoods, and the holes in the la última gota: Gabriel Lewis Galindo. differences could also help to understand street pavement. She has a B.A. from Goucher College in Panamanian culture. As for Panamanian society, let’s start Economics.

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Muslims and Jews in Panamá

Building Communities Through Commerce BY EBRAHIM ASVAT

THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN PANAMÁ, UNDER- Indian subcontinent occurred when Ben- burial facilities according to Islamic rules, stood as a group that maintains its cul- gali Muslims reached Panamanian shores and religious instruction to children. In tural and religious traditions, became in the 1920s. Unlike migrants to Trinidad 1975 it was renamed the Sunni Muslim rooted in the second half of the 20th cen- and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, who Religious Association of Panamá, and it is tury. It includes very distinct groups: In- left Calcutta and Madras as a result of the still active today. Today, immigrants from dian Muslims (my own ancestry); Arab British Empire’s Indentured Labor Laws Gujarat and neighboring Sindh, now in immigrants from Lebanon; and Muslims dating from 1837, the Bengalis who came Pakistan—communities that have been of Palestinian and Jordanian origin. to Panamá did speak English as their pioneers of trade for centuries in India, These three communities are active pre- primary language and worked mainly as Africa and the Middle East—stand out in dominantly in commerce, where they have street vendors. Other Muslim Indians the Panamanian commercial sector. been known to interact extensively and in trickled in circa 1925-30, for the most The second largest Muslim commu- good fashion. This peaceful coexistence part Punjabis, Bengalis, and Gujaratis. nity in Panamá, in the city of Colón, is and interaction extend well beyond the My grandfather was among those early predominantly composed of Arab immi- confines of the Muslim community. They Gujaratis. He immigrated to Panamá in grants from Lebanon. Lebanese busi- apply as well to the two most successful 1929, following his brother Ismail Asvat nessmen had immigrated in significant business ethnic groups in Panamá, the Jew- who, after seeing a flyer in Bombay adver- numbers to West Africa, Brazil, Chile, El ish and Arab communities, whose trading tising Brazil, jumped onto a ship and sailed Salvador, Honduras and Colombia. Many and commercial activities in many cases across the Indian and the Atlantic oceans. of these Lebanese Muslim traders who intersect. Both Jewish and Hindu employ- From Brazil, he sailed on to the Caribbean marketed products in Colombia began ers once provided goods and services to and then Panamá. Before his arrival, the to establish businesses in the Colón Free Arab businessmen in Colombia. Then these only Indian immigrants in Panamá were Zone in the second half of the 60s. This Arab businessmen settled in the Colón Free the Bengali Muslims and one or two Pash- prosperous and well-respected commu- Zone during the late ’60s in order to man- tuns from what is today Pakistan. nity built a mosque, an Arab country club age their own business transactions. It was not until the 1950s that my par- and a school in that city and the Islamic Frequent joint investments among ents came to Panamá. This is also the peri- Cultural Center of Colón in 1981. Jewish and Arab businessmen in the od in our history when Muslim women— The third Muslim community, of Pal- financial, commercial or services sector mostly from the south of Gujarat—began estinian and Jordanian origin, is scattered are a legacy of the ancient Silk Road that immigrating. Thus the majority of Muslim throughout the country, with mosques marked trade activity between Europe Panamanians today come from this west- and religious centers in Penonome, Chan- and Asia—which helps explain the har- ern state of India, followed closely by a mony and respect between these groups. substantial Muslim community in Colón, Muslims have migrated to Panamá for mostly of Lebanese descent, later joined by centuries, but a defined Muslim commu- Palestinians and Jordanians, who began to nity is more recently. In the early 1900s, form a community in the early 90s. some immigrants of Arab origin came to As more and more Indian Muslims Panamá, but they mingled with the Pana- came to Panamá, several organizations manian population and lost their reli- sought to bring them together. Accord- gious identity. ing to the Public Registry, the oldest asso- Establishing a community requires ciation was Misión Islam, established in the presence of women and children. The 1946, that brought together the Bengali early Muslim immigrants arrived alone Muslims and some West Indians. The and failed to start families with religious Association of Indian and Pakistani Mus- unity. They intermarried; which is why lims of Panama was formed in the 50s to many Christian families have Muslim last meet the religious needs of the commu- names such as Purcait, Sayyed, Hassan, nity—the establishment of a place of wor- Shaik, Ali or Malek. ship (especially for religious festivals such Joint investments among Jews and Arab The first wave of immigration from the as Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha), adequate businessmen are common.

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guinola, Chitre, Santiago and David. Panamá’s Jews are drawn predomi- The Distortion of History nantly from the Middle East, where Alep- po was a key player in the Silk Road. The A Form of Genocide BY ARYSTEIDES TURPANA Arabs arrived mostly from Lebanon, a country that has seen significant emigra- tion of businessmen to West Africa, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras and Panamá. PANAMÁ WAS ALREADY INHABITED 11,000 (Bartolomé de las Casas: Historia de Paralleling the tradition of the Silk years ago. Its history, nonetheless, is las Indias. T.III. Caracas: Biblioteca Road, these groups of migrants to Panamá written from two perspectives: that of Ayacucho, 1986. Pp.154-157). (Indian Muslims, Arab Muslims, and Mid- archaeologists and of historians. The Balboa himself admits that he por- dle Eastern Jews) share common com- British archaeologist Richard Cooke trayed his arrival to the Pacific Ocean mercial aspirations that have transcended found classic stone tools used as spear- in a January 20, 1513, letter to the King their religious and cultural differences. heads and butcher knives from that of Spain in a false and hypocritical way, After the 1989 American invasion of Pan- early era in Laka Alajuela in Colón and saying that the native peoples had been amá to overthrow Manuel Noriega’s dicta- Sarigua in Herrera. However, conven- treated very well and had told him torship, chaos reigned in the city of Colón tional historians begin the history of about great quantities of gold. for a few days because of a lack of police Panamá in 1501, when it was “discov- In general, the Panamanian ladino units. Members of the Arab community ered” by the Spaniard Rodrigo Galván historian interprets history from a very took it upon themselves to safeguard the de Bastidas. Hispanic point of view. There are indeed shops and warehouses owned by Jews and Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano exceptions, such as Ana Elena Porras, Hindus from plunder and pillage. once asked sarcastically, “Are native Roberto de La Guardia, Jorge Kam, Brutally divisive events—the forma- peoples blind?” After all they lived Francisco Herrera, Celestino Araúz y tion of the State of Israel and the partition by the Pacific Ocean, which allegedly Bernal Castillo. But on the whole, as of India—have threatened peaceful coex- had to be “discovered” by the Span- the poet and essayist Roque Javier Lau- istence between Muslims and Jews in the ish. What in reality was discovered was renza points out, Panamanian history is Middle East and Muslims and Hindus the official Panamá only, the Panamá written by “clumsy novelists.” in South Asia. In Panamá, nevertheless, that is celebrated by the government powerful interests and opportunities sus- with liquor and festivities, commemo- As Isidro A. Beluche recommends: tain the collaborative relationship among rating the date of September 25, 1513, Children, youth and adults of Panamá these different ethnic/religious groups. when a Spanish adventurer first saw must acquaint themselves with the Rather, in the New World, these three the Pacific Ocean (some say he arrived social institutions, cultural ways and groups share equal footing, disarm- on September 26). the great deeds of the inhabitants of ing tensions created by the tumultuous Actually, it was Bab Giakwa (known the isthmus before the arrival of the events of the last century in the Indian as Panquiaco in the Spanish dialect of peninsular invaders, so that they will Subcontinent and the Middle East. They Panamá), a man from the Dule (Guna) be able to understand the indigenous have not wanted to move the political con- nation, who told Vasco Núñez de Bal- soul and to make sure that the written flicts of their homelands to Panamá. In an boa, on whose ship Galván sailed, about measures consecrated in our Consti- intensely interconnected age, threats to the Pacific Ocean, an ocean that our tution and the laws being developed this status quo could come from external fellow Guna knew intimately from his or already promulgated in regards to sources. But for now, the Silk Road tradi- childhood. Spanish priest Bartolomé indigenist policy (articles 94, 95 and tion is alive and well in Panamá. de Las Casas writes that Bab Giakwa, 96 of the Constitution) be carried out dismayed because the Spaniards were in practice. (Isidro A. Beluche, “Inter- Ebrahim Asvat, a Panamanian by displacing native peoples from their pretación de la historia nacional y birth, is a lawyer who received a Master’s lands in their lust for gold, offered to americana,” in Memoria del Primer in Law from Harvard Law School. He guide them to the Pacific Ocean, “the Congreso, April 18-22, 1956.) taught international law at the Univers- southern sea.” Las Casas adds that idad Santa María La Antigua for twelve Vasco Núñez had written to his admi- This First [Indigenous] Congress, years. He was director of the Panama- ral that he had hanged 30 native chiefs at which Beluche spoke, resolved in nian National Police from 1990-91 after and was ready to hang anyone else who part “to ask the Education Ministry to the fall of Noriega. He was president of got in the way of the Spaniards’ goals; name a commission to revise the pro- the newspapers La Estrella de Panamá by doing so, he was demonstrating his grams and texts of Panamanian and and El Siglo from 2001-2011. service to God and the Spanish crown [Latin] American history to adapt

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The sign reads, “86 Years of the 1925 Kuna Revolution; a people that loses its tradition loses its soul.” them to a genuinely American point of their great contributions to the progress is composed of the artistic, philosophical view, that interprets indigenous senti- of mankind, which has led to the nega- and scientific manifestations produced ment in the study of the process of the tion of their very existence. We reject this by Panamanians throughout all time. Spanish invasion and domination of unacceptable representation.” The state will promote, develop and pro- America and especially in the isthmus of Diana Candanedo (Solidarity Com- tect this cultural patrimony.” Panamá.” The Congress also resolved to mittee with the Guaymi people); Bernar- As we have seen, the first Panamani- “ask the government of Panamá to honor do Jaén (from the Regional Coordinat- an lived around 11,000 years ago. To say the forefathers of the indigenous race ing Body of the Indian People of Central otherwise, to create a different type of who tenaciously resisted the conquerors, America) and Doris Rojas from the Uni- false memory, is an act of cultural geno- so that these figures can stimulate our versidad de Panamá all signed the decla- cide. We are all Bab Giakwa, who as a boy people to defend American and national ration on behalf of Panamá. saw the oceans, both the Atlantic and the sovereignty against any attempt at med- Through the work of Las Casas, the Pacific, from the highest point of Demar dling in continental affairs [sic] through three-volume Historia de las Indias, we Dake Yala, “the hill that overlooks both force or the intervention of foreign gov- can determine that our history as gen- seas.” In any decent country, Bab Giak- ernments in our hemisphere.” erally written by ladinos is a fraud and wa, the Panamanian who discovered the Twenty-five years later, in the- Dec totally lacks appreciation both for the Pacific—the sea of the South—would be laration of San José entitled “UNESCO indigenous people and for the intelli- declared a hero of the motherland by the and the Struggle Against Ethnocide,” in gence of humanity. The point of view of National Assembly. point 4, the international organization many of these Hispano-centric writers stressed: “Since the European invasion, might even be considered unconstitu- Arysteides Turpana is a Panamanian the Indian peoples of America have seen tional, since article 81 of the Panamanian professor, writer and poet of Guna their history denied or distorted, despite Constitution reads, “The national culture origin.

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Encounters with Guna Celebrations

A Photoessay BY JAMES HOWE

IN 1681, AN INJURED PIRATE NAMED LIONEL simple booze-ups, marked a girl’s coming whole day in elaborate preparations— Wafer spent several months in the of age; that celebrants drank and toasted making flutes and rattles, weaving ham- Darién region of eastern Panamá recu- each other with great solemnity; and that mock ropes, and painting designs on perating with the local Indians, who, he between times the abstemious Guna did balsawood boards—before settling in noted, gathered occasionally to enjoy a not touch alcohol at all. to several days of revelry. Village elders fermented corn drink. Wafer’s carefully My wife June and I first experienced invariably complained afterwards of cel- neutral account of these parties, pub- these feasts for ourselves in 1970, three ebrants’ misbehavior, but stern and com- lished in 1699, was not echoed by later centuries after Wafer, when we spent a pletely sober watchmen were always on observers. Most of them were appalled year in an island community. As a gradu- the lookout for out-of-bounds actions. by what they saw, and in the early 20th ate student in anthropology, I had been Over the next four decades, I drank at century, missionaries and government sent to study local politics, but—like many several chicha celebrations but took no officials tried, unsuccessfully, to impose other fieldworkers—I found I could not more photographs. A few images were prohibition. ignore major events just because they lay published and exhibited, but the original negatives, most of them exposed in low light, languished in a drawer until digital scanning and editing rescued them in the Anthopologist James Howe and his wife June new century. experienced chicha celebrations among the Guna In 2011, the revived photographs were exhibited in Panamá at the Museo del Indians over four decades. Canal Interoceánico, with the approval of the original villages and the official spon- sorship of the Guna Cultural Congress. By then the Indians, known today as outside my chosen topic. In the case of the The large Guna crowd at the opening of the Guna or Kuna, had moved out onto Guna, that meant drinking parties. the exhibit seemed every bit as pleased to small inshore islands along the Carib- One celebration in particular we see themselves on the museum walls as bean coast, where, among other things, observed close up, sponsored by a close we were to display them. they carried on holding the same cele- friend named Charlie Hernández. It start- By then, the Guna were photograph- brations as the ones in Wafer’s day. What ed with his anxiously gathering fish, game, ing the celebrations for themselves. Two their indignant critics did not under- bananas and money for his daughter’s rite years before the exhibit, at a feast that stand is that these events, by no means of passage. When villagers cooked cane occurred during a visit back to our field juice for the dark brew known in Span- site, June sat with with an old friend ish as chicha fuerte, June helped fan the from almost forty years before. As I fire. Two weeks later, when thechicha had stood nearby watching, marveling at the reached maturity and June’s friends had durability of Guna tradition, I wondered outfitted her for the occasion in native whether I might be allowed to bring out dress, we joined in several days of drink- my camera. A moment later I realized ing, singing and dancing, while the pre- that many of the younger people in the siding ritualists, called “flutemen,” per- room were already snapping pictures on formed a long esoteric chant celebrating their digital phones and cameras. Charlie’s daughter’s passage to adulthood. In other ceremonies that year, June James Howe is emeritus Professor of and I were encouraged to participate and Anthropology at MIT and author of even to take photographs, so long as they several books on Guna culture and his- did not include obviously intoxicated tory. He thanks William Morse Editions women. In the longer of the two types of Boston for rescuing and printing the June Howe with friends, 1970. of ceremony, men and women spent a photographs.

40 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY JAMES HOWE Above: At a ceremony in honor of a young girl, senior relatives, all of whom are wearing identical outfits, drink in unison, while other women look on. Below: Two dancers wearing pelican bone necklaces blow smoke from long cigars, taking the lighted ends into their mouths. The smoke converts into invisible cane beer or chicha fuerte for spirits in the room, who would otherwise be jealous of human enjoyment.

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Clockwise from top left: Brewing a cauldron of nourishing corn drink to supplement and moderate the effects of the chicha fuerte; women dance in a circle, wearing the feather headdresses belonging to the ritualists who preside over the ceremonies; senior men enjoy themselves during the ceremonies; women fan a fire to cook sugar cane juice that will ferment into chicha fuerte.

42 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY JAMES HOWE ETHNIC DIVERSITY

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Clockwise from top left: A group of Guna volunteers and specialists chant and drink as they weave ropes for a ceremonial hammock; enthusiastic young women serve chicha fuerte to the next group of drinkers; senior men toast others before draining their cups of chicha fuerte; June Howe enjoys a welcoming drink at a friend’s kitchen during fieldwork.

44 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY JAMES HOWE ETHNIC DIVERSITY

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The Chinese of Panamá Also Have a Story to Tell…

BY RAMÓN A. MON

PANAMÁ’S CHINESE IMMIGRANTS ARRIVED 159 self-destructive circumstances have been years ago after a hellish journey from described in Chinese communities in their homeland. Hired by the Panama Peru’s Chincha Islands, where guano was Railroad Company, the company in mined, and in Cuba’s sugar plantations. charge of the construction of the rail- The first Chinese immigrants became way that would link, for the first time, a sui generis class of workers. Many of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, the them were consigned at the ports and group of 705 Chinese arrived aboard the enticed by misleading promises; others “Sea Witch” of the Holland and Aspin- wanted to escape their situation of pov- wall line on March 30, 1854. Sailing from erty and social marginalization at home. Shantou (China), 11 passengers had died Among them were individuals with gam- during the 61-day trip. These ships were bling debts or addiction to opium. Few called “floating hells” because of the in- knew for sure the place and the work humane conditions of the journey. Later, that awaited them in foreign lands. How- many of these workers died of tropical ever, all came from a much more devel- diseases and various committed suicide, oped society and from a civilization with but the few Chinese who survived made knowledge transmitted from generation up a solid group that marked the begin- to generation. These factors guaranteed a ning of a migratory flow which would good working performance and the possi- be uninterrupted throughout our history bility of upward labor mobility, compared as a nation. to the performance of blacks brought to The story of this first group of Chinese the Antilles. As recorded in their hiring workers has been studied in detail. Pana- and payroll records, the Railway Com- manian, U.S. and Latin American histo- pany paid $ 109.00 to labor recruiters for rians have looked into the large number each Chinese brought to Panamá. ing few stayed in the country. However, of suicides among the Chinese laborers Men came alone. Some of their con- this small group began working as shift that alarmed the directors of the Railway tracts expressly prohibited them from laborers or in service activities so suc- Company as much as the Panamanian bringing their families, but as soon as cessfully that the future Republic of Pan- community in general. Environmental they managed to save enough money, amá decided to enact laws of exclusion causes such as tropical diseases (malaria, they would indeed bring the wife, chil- and immigration restrictions against the yellow fever) sometimes led to despair. dren and other relatives. It often hap- Chinese, some of which are still in force. However, miserable living conditions, pened that immigrants formed a new Today’s convoluted immigration laws, the inability to communicate in their family in Panamá and kept the other one which restrict immigration from the Peo- own language, the radical change in the in China; and in some cases the Chinese ple’s Republic of China (as well as several customs and meals, as well as the lack family emigrated and lived with the new other countries ranging from Cuba to the of opium, fostered an attitude prone to Panamanian family, wives included. United Arab Emirates), only encourage depression and suicide. Historical studies Of the Chinese who survived the sub- human trafficking. Immigrants from Tai- show that when the directors of the Rail- human conditions in which they worked wan, on the other hand, have easy access way Company in New York learned about for the Trans-Isthmian Railroad, many to permanent residence because of diplo- the cost of the opium distributed daily to were exchanged for black Jamaicans, and matic treaties. the Chinese, which had been promised in $17.77 was paid for each Chinese man The waves of Chinese migration cor- their contracts, they abruptly suspended brought to work on the sugar planta- responded to large construction projects the supply, worsening the emotional tions of Jamaica. As many as 197 Chinese that were carried out in the Isthmus of situation of these immigrants. Similar were exchanged at this rate; the remain- Panamá during the last two centuries,

46 ReVista SPRING 2013 ETHNIC DIVERSITY

Clockwise from top left: the Chinatown gate in Panama City; New Year’s celebrations; Ramón Mon’s father, around 1927; Mon’s family before his birth.

TOP PHOTOS COURTESY OF LA PRENSA DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 47 BOTTOM PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMÓN MON PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

such as the Trans-Isthmian Railroad and children who were born into the Panama- mercial ties with Panamá; the PRC being the French and American Canal. World nian nationality, obtained either through the second user of the Panama Canal, War II also attracted a large number of jus soli or jus sanguinis, that is, the law while the two main ports of Panamá are immigrants to our country, since it was of the place of birth or the right of blood, handled by Chinese-funded enterprises: an obligatory transit point for troops and i.e. descent. Evergreen (Taiwan) in the Atlantic Ocean warships going from one front to the oth- As the Chinese left Chinatown, locat- at Colón, and Hutchinson-Whampoa er, and also because of the accompanying ed in the area next to the Public Market (PRC) in the Pacific Ocean, at Balboa. economic boom. in the Old Quarter of Panama City, they To say that the Chinese immigrants The post-World War II Chinese began forgetting their language and have succeeded in integrating into the community lived principally in the port cit- customs. However, Chinese of the first Panamanian community does not mean ies of Panamá and Colón, many going into and second generations formed Benefi- that they have done so easily, or with- business or activities within the Panama cence Associations according to their out any effort or unpleasantness. This Canal, while others became accountants, district of origin in China, and tried hard process demands an enormous psycho- doctors, engineers or engaged in services not to lose their cultural ties, just as they logical effort, which has a price. The such as grocery stores, restaurants and began to lose their ethnographic or eth- psychological transformations that take laundry shops. The process of assimilation nological ties. Confucian precepts such place include denial, suppression and was facilitated through mixed marriages, as the importance of education, respect repression of some basic feelings. As the adoption of Christianity, and active for the family hierarchy and filial love every immigrant in this world, the Chi- participation in the educational, social and remain valid among Chinese descen- nese individual tends to eliminate nos- political activities of the country. dants without their really being aware talgia for the homeland, for the family and friends left behind. This repression must take place to avoid feelings of mel- ancholy that would endanger their adap- Those studying Chinese immigration to Panamá have tive process. Sometimes people seem to noted that the circumstances these immigrants face be extremely tolerant and patient in face of the aggressiveness of the surrounding have been unchanged since 1904. medium, by suppressing anger or envy. However, for new immigrants who decide to adopt this country as their new Despite their concentration in these that these are and were traditional values home, the process of integration, par- cities, the Chinese were not limited geo- of the Chinese transmitted unconsciously ticularly for their children, will be made graphically. In a country as small as ours, through identification with their parents easier by institutions such as the Chinese- with barely 30,000 square miles, the Chi- and ancestors. Panamanian Cultural Center. There, nese have been moving all over it since Those who have studied Chinese they will be able to gain an education the last century, from the Darién jungle immigration to Panamá have noted that while becoming familiar with the Pana- to our border with Costa Rica. Already the circumstances and the social and manian culture and integrate without in 1876 a French engineer, Armand Rec- political problems these immigrants face having to give up their language, tradi- lus, found in the Darién province Chi- have been unchanged since 1904. tions and customs. nese mixed with runaway African slaves, Today, although the Chinese in Pan- And so the story of the Chinese in native Indians and white people. amá have kept their political allegiances, Panamá is one that will continue to have The relative acceptance of the Chi- whether to the Taiwanese nationalist gov- new and exciting chapters. The chal- nese by the lower classes in Panamá and ernment or to the political order of the lenges that lay ahead may be familiar or measures by the Panamanian govern- People’s Republic of China, they generally unknown, but historians will continue to ment against these immigrants promoted do not air their political conflicts publicly. follow and document these transitions of mixed marriages, and assimilation was There are newspapers of both ideological the generations to arrive. speeded up; in addition, many needed orientations, as well as known groups for “marriages of convenience” as a way of either affiliation. The Republic of Pan- Ramón A. Mon is a clinical psycholo- solving immigration problems. In 1941, amá is one of the few nations to hold gist and psychoanalyst. He earned a during the presidency of Arnulfo Arias, diplomatic relations with the Republic of Master of Oriental Studies of El Colegio businesses of Chinese residents who were China (Taiwan), while at the same time de Mexico and has worked, from a clini- not nationalized were confiscated. Many maintaining an Office of Trade Rela- cal perspective, on immigration conflicts Chinese got married then and/or trans- tions with the People’s Republic of China especially of Chinese in Latin America. ferred their businesses to their wives or (PRC). Both nations have strong com- Contact: [email protected]

48 ReVista SPRING 2013 CULTURE

Panamá’s lively culture includes a strong literary tradition, innovative contemporary art, and, of course, many types of music. Here are just of few glimpses of the country’s cultural scene.

n Panama City: Contemporary Art 50 n The Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá 53 n The Panamanian Novel 58

ARTISTPHOTO COURTESYCREDIT NAME OF ANDMUSEO URL DEL CANAL INTEROCEÁNICO DE PANAMÁ PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

Panama City

A Pandora’s Box for Contemporary Art BY ADRIENNE SAMOS

ON MAY 8, 2003, THE BAY OF PANAMÁ SUDDENLY anniversary of ciudadMULTIPLEcity, in the streets. To conceive their works, turned red. The Coca-Cola factory had and people still ask me about the inspired the foreign artists visited our small but spilled a massive amount of non-toxic red author of that work. “The uninvited and intricate metropolis for a week or two, chemical dye and was eventually fined unwitting artist was Coke,” I reply. returning in March 2003 to carry them $300,000 for its negligence. Before the Although none of the participants out. All the works were conceived as culprit confessed, some people feared a of ciudadMULTIPLEcity went as far hybrid experiments, fusing diverse con- catastrophe of biblical proportions, while as changing the color of the ocean, this temporary genres, such as video, photog- a few others believed it to be an artwork stupendously mistaken attribution goes raphy, happening, installation, sculpture, by one of the artists participating in to show to what extent our megaproject painting, performance, conceptual art, ciudadMULTIPLEcity. The one-month constituted an exceptional experience in participatory art and community work. international urban art event curated Panamá. We invited twelve artists from The project was inspired by Panama by Gerardo Mosquera and me had just abroad (including Francis Alÿs, Ghada City’s social, cultural and physical char- concluded two weeks before. “The Red Amer, Cildo Meireles, Gu Xiong, Yoan acter. The city was not merely the site of Bay was my favorite piece,” someone re- Capote, Jesús Palomino, the collective the event; it was its muse and protago- marked. Another enthusiastic spectator artway of thinking) and three Panamani- nist. Most of the casual onlookers who described it as “a powerful visual meta- ans (Gustavo Araujo, Brooke Alfaro, and came into contact with one or more of phor for rampant corruption and political Humberto Vélez) to create works capable the works probably never got to know crimes.” The year 2013 marks the tenth of making a direct impact on the people about the whole project, may not even

50 ReVista SPRING 2013 IMAGES COURTESY OF ADRIENNE SAMOS CULTURE

Left: In Donna Conlon’s video Urban Phantoms (2004), Panama City’s skyline is the backdrop and model for the construction of a new city from garbage; Above: Glass Ridge, digital C-print photograph from Donna Conlon’s Synthetic Landscape series, 2007. have felt that they were experiencing art, another), Panamá was forced to expand the community as the main spectator. but that is beside the point. Our chal- along a narrow strip and grow upwards The crowd’s reaction was intensely mov- lenge was to transcend the art world and to such an extreme that it has become one ing. It became viscerally evident to all of engage ordinary citizens, not with mere of the tallest cities in the world. A huge us—family, neighbors, visitors, and the spectacle or conventional public art, but ethnic and cultural diversity has given it gang members (who watched the whole with experimental artistic practices. a uniquely rich profile, though its chaotic show in hiding)—that the work was The strategic shape and geographic modernity goes hand in hand with the being charged with new meanings. Alfa- location of Panamá made it a global city poverty of most of its people. ro’s intention was to symbolically unite before globalization. It bridged the waters All of the works in ciudadMULTIP- these mortal enemies through art, but of the world and the lands of the Ameri- LEcity underwent important changes the community behaved like the scream- cas centuries before the canal was built. during their interactions with the city. To ing, ecstatic fans of rock stars, precisely Gate to the world, our city has become the me, this malleable, embryonic potential because of the performers’ bigger-than- embodiment of transit and movement. is one of the real measures of significant life status as powerful gangsters. Panama City’s history can be traced back public art. Take, for instance, Brooke The most significant factor leading to to Panamá Viejo (Old Panamá), the first Alfaro’s multimedia performance Nine. the realization of ciudadMULTIPLEcity European capital founded on the Ameri- The artist worked for over a year with was the emerging local art scene. Young can mainland. Built in 1519 and sacked by two rival gangs in Barraza, one of the artists were already scrutinizing the city pirates in 1671, it was rebuilt just a mile poorest neighborhoods of the city. He and working within conspicuously urban further west. Both the ruins of the first persuaded them to interpret a song (each languages that thrive on close encoun- city and the historic quarter of the actual gang separately) by the popular singer ters with the unpredictable and fractured city are World Heritage sites. Restricted and ex-gangster El Roockie; Alfaro then street life. Many of these artists do not to the south by the ocean and to the north choreographed and filmed them. The even belong to an artistic tradition; they by the former Canal Zone (until 2000 a two videos were projected side by side on come from the digital world of computers, U.S. military enclave, a country within the facade of a building in Barraza, with of video and photography; others work in

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art project of similar scale and daring has been attempted in Panamá (and rarely elsewhere), a continuous output of artworks motivated by the city’s dynamics keeps emerging, as well as collective urban projects curated by artists, such as Exposed to the Public Eye (2004) and Bus Stop (2009), and remarkable exhibitions, such as the VIII Panama Art Biennial (2008), which focused on the deep social, historical, and urban issues surrounding Panamá’s former Canal Zone, a colonial phantom that still lingers in our collective psyche. Perhaps no artist has delved into Pan- ama City’s cultural ethos more intensely than Humberto Vélez, particularly about the idiosyncrasies of popular urban classes. Although he has gone far beyond its bor- ders, Panamá still remains at the heart of his research. With La Banda de Mi Hogar, the project he conceived for ciudadMUL- TIPLEcity—a popular brass-and-percussion band that paraded at the “wrong” times and the “wrong” places— he began to develop a worldwide artistic corpus that he calls “aesthetics of collaboration.” Vélez’s unique participatory performances center on the ways communities relate to their corporal, psychic, and geographical territories by creating their own aesthetics and appropriating public spaces. Another salient body of work is that of Donna Conlon, an American biologist- turned-artist who decided to make Pan- amá her home decades ago. No wonder. This concrete emporium, plastered with billboards and besieged by an uncon- trolled frenzy of demolition and construction, is spectacularly flanked by Pilar Moreno’s Cuentos chinos (2009) is a series of ink-and-watercolors that play with certain nature. One can go in minutes from the aspects of Panama City: its construction frenzy and its unique multicultural eccentricities. urban center to one of the world’s rich- est areas of biodiversity, and in less than advertising, graphic design, architecture, array of students, volunteers, intellectu- two hours from one ocean to the other. engineering. The vast majority lives in als and professionals in various fields— In her video performances, photographs the capital, a deliriously expanding city actively participated in carrying out ciu- and three-dimensional projects, Con- of services, a communications axis, and dadMULTIPLEcity, a truly collective lon highlights the shifting character of a key commercial and banking center. effort that included close to one hundred beauty and coexistence by working at Consequently, the strong demand for collaborators. In other words, the event the threshold where nature and humans technologically savvy professionals has hooked onto a cultural evolution already relate, and transform, in meaningful strengthened the local academic offer in taking place locally, thus encouraging ways. Her photographic series titled these fields, leaving the poor level of art existing efforts towards a more innovative, Synthetic Landscapes captures outland- education even farther behind. critical and socially relevant art. ish but real urban environments: a con- Most of these artists—as well as a whole Although no other experimental urban crete “peninsula” ensued from industrial

52 ReVista SPRING 2013 IMAGES COURTESY OF ADRIENNE SAMOS CULTURE

waste, green “mountain ridges” of recycled soda bottles, a shimmering The Museo del Canal “lake” of glass and bottle caps... Conlon has also co-created many Interoceánico de Panamá video performances with artist Jona- than Harker, most notably the ongo- Developing Panamanian Cultural Identity ing (Video) Games series, which show their hands playing uncanny board BY ANGELES RAMOS BAQUERO games by self-made rules symbolizing power struggles between diverse social actors. The chips are made of debris from the myriad construction sites A PANAMANIAN CHILD VISITING THE MUSEO DEL after years of watching how other cultur- in Panama City, the current victim of Canal Interoceánico de Panamá—the al institutions in the country had fallen fierce speculation that has destroyed Canal Museum—might be fascinated to into a state of neglect. much of its architectural heritage. learn how a slice of watermelon start- In the process of building the col- Equal parts video and conceptual ed a riot that left 18 dead in 1856. She lection we have also tried to rebuild the artist, performer, draftsman, photog- might react with pride that this was public’s trust by establishing the best rapher, and writer, Harker has gravi- the first citizen insurrection against the professional practices, abiding by inter- tated mainly around Panamanian U.S. presence in Panamá. The incident national guidelines, and helping to train social dynamics in order to expose started when Jack Olivier, a drunk U.S. a new generation of museum profession- and subvert conventional wisdom. soldier, refused to pay for a five-cent slice als deeply committed to the ethics of Other important multimedia art- of watermelon from José Manuel Luna, a museum practice. ists working within distinctly Pana- Panamanian vendor. Our efforts resulted in a change of manian urban poetics include Pilar If the child is lucky, she’ll have a guide heart among the citizens that became Moreno, Abner Benaim, Ramón Zaf- just about her age—part of the museum’s evident by the phenomenal growth of the rani, Darién Montañez, and Enrique program in training young guides (see collection. In 1997, the museum inaugu- Castro, as well as photographer José the charming video of child guides at rated its exhibition halls with a collection Castrellón, whose portraits and land- http://www.museodelcanal.com). of 420 objects; since then, the collection scapes capture extraordinary person- On the other hand, the person fas- has grown up to 16,000 objects—rang- al ways in which a collective sensibil- cinated by the documentation of the ing from dresses to photographs to ship ity is made manifest. so-called Watermelon War might not models. Artists have always contributed to be a child at all. She might be a histo- These objects are more than just the understanding and reinvention of rian, researching the museum’s ample objects. They seek to reinforce the muse- the public and cultural life of all cities, archives. um’s mission as a permanent, non-profit not only by exposing disturbing truths The Museo del Canal Interoceánico institution for the service of the com- and provoking dissent, but also by de Panamá opened to the public, includ- munity and its development. Through pointing towards profound, imagina- ing school groups, tourists and research- careful selection, these objects and mate- tive, unpredictable and exciting new ers, in September 1997. As a museum, we rials related to the history, construc- ways of living our shared urban spaces. acknowledged the Panamanians’ lead- tion, technology and operation of the Panama City is privileged to be the ing role in their own history, seeking to Panama Canal are a tool to collect, pre- dark muse of incisive creators. How- strengthen cultural identity to prepare serve, safeguard, disseminate and carry ever, the real burden of effective social the nation for the full administration of out research on related topics. They are change should not be theirs. This the Panama Canal at the end of 1999. a way of disseminating information and daunting task lies beyond the limits of Our first step was to reach out to offering testimonies on the Panama art and belongs to every one of us. the community to ask for assistance in Canal history to educate the public. building up a material foundation to Adrienne Samos is an independent support our mission. An ad in a news- THE EXHIBITION: PANAMÁ, editor, curator, and art critic based paper brought us an unexpectedly large LEADING ITS HISTORY in Panama City. She is director of the response that enabled us to begin build- Putting together the permanent exhibit arts foundation Arpa and Sarigua ing a collection. This response was all the proved to be an exploration not only of Publishers, and advisor for Cisneros- more impressive considering that many triumphs but also of the darker, more Fontanals Foundation and Endara people had lost faith in the capacity of tragic moments of the national past. In House Museum. museums to protect the nation’s heritage, terms of script and graphic design, the

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project pioneered a new narrative of Panamá’s history. At the core of the exhibition was this conviction: no history of the Panama Canal could ignore the country’s rich history. We articulate this interpretation by reflecting our diversity. The exhibit establishes the importance of the original indigenous communities in our history and cultural identity. It reflects on the importance of the Spaniards’ first assessments for the possibility of a canal in the 16th century, the establishment of the earliest commercial routes, and frequent threats by other countries aspiring to control the territory, all of which very much shaped our destiny. The tumultuous gold rush times witnessed the tensions and struggles between Panamanians and Americans, as highlighted by the watermelon slice incident, a historical landmark for the Panamá’s relationship with the United States. The construction of the inter-oceanic railroad and the massive Chinese immigration that had such a huge impact in our demographic and culture, the French effort to build the canal, and Panamá’s independence from Colombia are still the subjects of heated debates among scholars, and the museum has become an important resource for explorations of these and other topics. The museum considers the complexities of the social implications of the construction of the canal by the Americans, the engineering challenges, the scientific discoveries, the massive West Indian immigration. The racial segregation of the tributes to the preservation and conser- during the construction of the canal and Canal Zone and its social impact are also vation of the history of West Indies work- the strong influence that the American featured, with the museum rescuing cru- ers in the construction of the canal. way of life in the Canal Zone had on the cial testimonies of this cultural heritage. Researchers in the U.S. National Panamanian culture. The museum con- The West Indies’ strong contribution Archives (NARA) discovered almost ten siders the perspectives of people of dif- to the Panamanian identity is a driv- hours of original film from the 1920s to ferent nationalities and backgrounds, ing force of our culture. The collection 1930s featuring the construction sites, including Panamanians and people from of postcards donated to the museum by laborers, Panamá’s cities and landscape. the United States who lived in the Zone, Charles Muller was registered in 2011 These images now are shown at the known as “Zonians.” One member of in the Memory of the World by UNES- Museo del Canal, along with the collec- this community is Mrs. Estelle Davison CO, entitled “Silver Men: West Indian tion of objects illustrating everyday life Crews, born in the Canal Zone at the Labourers at the Panama Canal.” It is in the Canal Zone. Gorgas Hospital in 1947 and now living the first Panamanian documentation to Museum exhibits also interpret the in New Scotland, Canada. Over the past obtain this designation. This exhibit con- daunting engineering challenges faced five years, she has donated to the muse-

54 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS COURTESY OF MUSEO DEL CANAL INTEROCEÁNICO CULTURE

Clockwise from left: Children enjoy an old-fashioned victrola in temporary exhibition “Vision of a Collector of the XXI Century,” 2006; “Paul Gauguin, Panamá’s Dream,” 2012; permanent exhibit “Everyday life in the Canal Zone,” 2010. um 458 pieces about her life in the Canal this historical event to allow for the through private collections donated Zone, ranging from her baptismal dress future interpretation of this history. to the museum. The Ricardo Gago to her high school class ring. During the past fifteen years, the Salinero Canal Collection is an extraor- The exhibit devoted to Panama’s vin- museum has served its mission with a dinary example of such a partnership, dication to the right over the canal and its broad range of activities: building its col- enabling the museum to organize vari- territory provides an ongoing exchange lection, establishing permanent exhib- ous important exhibitions such as “Pas- of testimonies and perspectives that gave its, organizing temporary and traveling ajes Panameños” and “Su Donación es a voice to a generation. The input of the exhibits and promoting educational and Nuestra Exhibición” in 2010, and “Un community and oral history has played cultural activities. Coleccionista del Siglo XXI” in 2006 a key role in developing the museum’s A number of temporary exhibits have with a book project with the same title approach to these complex issues. enabled the Museo to address a wide in 2012. During the past 15 years Gago The Panama Canal expansion that range of topics, including collaborations Salinero donated 4,000 pieces to the began in 2007 presented the museum with community groups. Others offer museum collection. with a new challenge: how to document opportunities to interpret specific issues Through more than 305 temporary

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exhibitions, the museum stimulates a The museum cultivates a strong The Museo del Canal has also had an deeper insight into less known historical relationship with the regional museum impact on the international community. events, such as the failed Scottish Colo- community, which allows us to develop It led to the development of the Hondu- ny in Darién and the story of the Japa- a richer perspective on issues and pres- ras Museum for the National Identity, nese engineer Akira Aoyama. In 2009, ent our audience with a global perspec- and created, in a joint venture with the the museum opened the first exhibit of tive. The Museo is not just a reflection of Smithsonian Institution, the Panamani- molas, textiles produced by the Guna historical scholarship but has become an an Passages temporary exhibit in Wash- indigenous people in Panamá, loaned influence in its own right in reshaping ington D.C., in 2009, which honors Pana- by the Jose Felix Llopis Foundation. The how historians tell Panamanian history. manian cultural heritage and the process temporary exposition “Paul Gauguin, el … the Museo del Canal Interoceánico by which Panamanians have reclaimed Sueño de Panamá” opened in December became my classroom for the study of their own history. 2012. This exposition came to the muse- Panama’s past. Until the 1980s, the history of the um through the generosity of institu- Aims McGuinness, Panama Canal had more often than not tions such as the Musée d’Orsay, Institut Path of Empire: Panama and the been told by non-Panamanians. The national d’histoire de l’art, Bibliothèque, California Gold Rush, canal was portrayed as if it existed some- Collection Jacques Doucet (INHA), Bib- Cornell University Press, 2008. how apart from the Panamanian nation; liothèque nationale de France (BnF), as if Panamanians were only passive wit- Société de Géographie de Paris, Musée … the brilliant Museo del Canal Intero- nesses to their own history. des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, Musée des ceánico de Panamá illuminated my per- Too often, historians of the canal have Beaux-Arts de Reims, Musée départe- spective on the canal in numerous ways. ignored or only reluctantly acknowl- mental Maurice Denis de Saint-Ger- Julie Greene, edged that Panamá has been a sovereign main-en-Laye, and the Manchester Art The Canal Builders: Making American’s nation with its own government, culture, Gallery, as well as private collectors from Empire at the Panama Canal, and history. The only importance given France and Mexico. Penguin Group Incorporated. 2009. to the country was the assessment of

56 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS COURTESY OF MUSEO DEL CANAL INTEROCEÁNICO CULTURE

Left: Permanent exhibit shows “Daily Life in the Canal Zone.” Right: School children from central provinces visiting the exhibitions as part of the Sponsors Project to bring children from all over the country to the museum, 2007. its geographical position, the narrow- workingmen and workingwomen who Through the Museo del Canal’s com- est point in the Western Hemisphere actually built the canal. mitment to working with different com- between the Atlantic and Pacific. munities inside and outside Panamá, its During the construction years of This U.S.-centered historical approach relevant collections have made that vision the canal, between 1904 and 1914, U.S. only began to change in the late 1980s, totally obsolete. From a museum that lit- newspapers often promoted the effort with the work of authors such as Michael erally began with no collection of its own, as a symbol of the United States’ mis- L. Conniff, Peter Szok, Thomas L. Pearcy the Museo has become a place where Pan- sion to bring civilization and prosperity and Aims McGuinness. amanians can find a voice of their own. to the rest of the hemisphere and to the But by then the misplaced emphasis world. The traditional historical studies had already implanted in many Pana- Angeles Ramos Baquero is the Executive only considered the most conspicuous manians a deep necessity to search and Director and Chief Curator of the Museo individuals, describing them as civiliza- vindicate their national identity, and, to del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá. tion heroes. The importance of the canal others, it brought a sense of inadequacy During her tenure, the Museo del Canal workers was relegated to the margins felt until the return of the canal to Pan- Interoceánico de Panamá became an and the Panamanian nation was ignored. amá on December 31, 1999. active member of the local chapter of As Julie Green noted in The Canal Build- Meanwhile, in the country itself, many the International Council of Museums ers (pp. 361-363): Panamanians felt estranged from the (ICOM), American Alliance of Museums … during the world’s fair in San Fran- canal. The Canal Zone that denied Pana- (AAM) and an affiliate of the Smithson- cisco, two great themes were notably manians access to the waterway that ran ian Institution. Ramos Baquero received absent. The first was the role played through the center of their nation also a Ph.D. in Art History at the University by the Republic of Panama… another functioned as a barrier that prevented of Seville, Spain, and a Master’s Degree in remarkable absence at the fair was the them from claiming their own past. Art History, University of Navarra, Spain.

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The Panamanian Novel

History as Magnificent Fiction BY BERNA BURRELL

PUEBLOS PERDIDOS, THE NOVEL WHICH EARNED is different, more cosmopolitan, psycho- Gil B. Tejeira Panamá’s Miró Literary Prize logical, with new subjects and intent. But for 1963, tells the story of Gatún Lake, at before getting to today’s novels, let’s take the time the largest artificial reservoir in a brief look at the history of the genre in the world, through which ships sail from Panamá. the sets of locks at one end of the Pana- During the Colonial and early Repub- ma Canal to the locks on the other side, lican eras, Latin American fiction was for 23 miles. The vast, watery landscape forced to take a back seat, given the tor- swallowed whole mountains that then rential hyperbole of reality. Clearly influ- became islands; towns and villages which enced by the 18th Enlightenment cen- had sprung into being at the edge of the tury, Panamá’s first literary expressions transoceanic railway were plunged into were patriotic hymns and odes to the its depths. Divers tell, in hushed whispers, Fatherland. Even later, during the age that the church bells still toll, grieving for of Romanticism, there was no room for those who died whilst building the great- romantic themes; the wounds inflicted est marvel of the modern world. by the struggles for independence had The Panamanian novel, as a whole, is yet to heal, and resentment ran deep rooted in history, with the Panama Canal against the cruel treatment of the native often as its cornerstone. At the same time, peoples and the ignominious slavery of it belongs “to the great, unexpected and black people; with few exceptions, these mythical world of Hispanic literature.” were the sources of our literature. The novel—in Panamá and beyond—has In March 1821, the first printing proved its staying power as a literary press arrived in Panamá. Although many genre at a time when its disappearance believe that the first truly isthmian -lit was all but a foregone conclusion. Rang- erary generation was born during that ing from historical novels to psychological century, Rodrigo Miró, father of Pana- Panamanian Jeremías Jaen, was pub- thrillers, the Panamanian novel is at once manian literature’s historiography, cites lished in New York. In 1889, the con- very Latin American and influenced by its the discovery of some 18th century struction of the French canal ground special geography and history. manuscripts penned by Panamanians as to a halt. In 1903, just as hopes for the When other novelists created works early as 1638. Yet, despite some novelis- canal were being revived, Panamanian that went beyond local affairs and matters tic attempts, the essay and poetic form writer Julio Ardila published the novel of their lands, in our case, the subject mat- dominated until the 19th century. Josefina in installments. Miró points out ters of the Panamanian Fatherland and The 1870 novel María by Colombian that “the reader is made aware of the lack the Canal, above all others, continued to Jorge Isaac was widely read in Panamá. of true and intimate coexistence between be a perennial treasure trove and marked As well, the construction of the canal by the local population and foreigners. The our literary output insofar as it was a core the French in the late 19th century prom- presence of strangers is purely a matter of issue of our economy and our centennial ised not only material wealth, but cul- existing within the same confines.” This struggle for national sovereignty. tural prosperity: more readers became work, as Miró indicates, is “the starting The issue of the canal as a central available for a literary production by bet- point of the Panamanian novel.” motivator turned into a proud asset for a ter educated writers, often influenced by In 1913, Ricardo Miró publishes, also country that is today considered to have the movement started by Rubén Darío, in feuilleton format, Las noches de Babel, a privileged economy. The canal is a total the universal Nicaraguan. and later the novel Flor de María, but presence and functions seamlessly, as the However, the all too brief influence literary production continued to be rela- colossal prodigy it still is. of French language and culture was as tively scarce. In 1940, Panamá welcomes By now, the Panamanian novel has doomed as De Lesseps’ dream of a trans- the important historical novel by Octa- ceased to sail only through the Canal. It oceanic pathway. In 1888, Mélida, by vio Méndez P., El tesoro del Dabaibe, in

58 ReVista SPRING 2013 CULTURE

A Guna Indian shows how molas with their fanciful themes are made. The Panamanian novel is influenced by the country’s special geography and history.

acclaim overseas with the award for the best foreign book from Chile’s Pen Club in 1947. The Master, a title justly deserved by Sinán, penned many works in diverse genres, including prize-winning short stories. In one of these collections, Sinán traces something akin to the history of Panamá through the development of Taboga, which rises out of the sea, right in front of our metropolis. In 1951, Puente del mundo won the Miró. Its author, Renato Ozores, also wrote Playa Honda, a novel perfectly capturing the reality of the nation’s capital. A short time later, in 1957, Guillermo Sánchez Borbón wins the Miró under the pseudonym Tristán Solarte, with El ahogado, a novel in the best style of psychological thrillers, which places him on the forefront of Panamanian writers. In the context of a portrait of life in the banana plantations, Solarte recreates the legend of the excruciating divine punishment suffered by a woman whose infant child dies whilst she commits adultery, known as “La Tulivieja” or the “woman in mourning.” Dimas L. Pitty’s Estación de naveg- which Vasco Núñez de Balboa is turned In the early 1940s, the novel acquired antes—Miró Prize, 1974—draws a fair into legend; Another important work a prominent place in the Panamanian lit- picture of the U.S. presence in the coun- from this period is Crisol, in which José erary scene, in no small part because the try since the creation of the Canal Zone, Isaac Fábrega defines the country as a country’s foremost literary award—the with vivid imagery of the uncouth dregs racial melting pot, and a new hope after Ricardo Miró Prize—was established in of humanity on which the plot is based. the financial disappointment resulting 1942. That period produced El cabecilla, Intricately structured, and divided into from the utopian canal. by José Agustín Cajar Escala, awarded parts by a chronicle well suited to the Authors turned to their roots for the first Miró. The novel deals with the noise and crowds, days and nights of answers, and the new literature was conflicts arising in the countryside; it Panama City, the work uses contempo- inspired by the country and its people, describes everyday problems caused by rary techniques and language. as penned by such writers as José María the social inequalities between peasants This approach continues with Ernesto Sánchez Borbón and Mario Augusto and landowners. Other important works Endara’s Tic tac, which took the first Miró Rodríguez, Ramón H. Jurado, Carlos include San Cristóbal (which earned an Prize of 1992; the author has won Miró Francisco Changmarín, Julio B. Sosa and award from the Ministry of Education Prizes for several other genres another Gil Blas Tejeira. in 1943) and Desertores by Ramón H. eleven times. He also wrote Pantalones The Panama Canal became a corner- Jurado, winner of the second Miró Prize, cortos, 1997, and Pantalones largos, 1998; stone of Panamanian literature, with Luna which fictionalizes the everyday life in two novels about a young man’s experi- verde by Joaquín Beleño, a Canal Zone the country’s sugar mills. ences in his beloved hometown, Panama journeyman and mason who suffered the Rogelio Sinán’s Plenilunio is a psy- City. The subject matter’s apparent sim- injustices depicted in his novel. It was the chological thriller which, besides win- plicity does not detract from the author’s trailblazer for the stark issues of the day. ning the Miró of 1943, gained further mature critique of “a society that subsists

PHOTO COURTESY OF LA PRENSA/ BIENVENIDO VELASCO DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 59 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

on the fragility of the family and the mis- the unjust treatment and repression of for El último juego, the first part of the fortunes of the mother/father,” an ever women; underneath the plot and ever Maramargo trilogy, whose second and increasing occurrence in our society. present is the yearning for the Panamá third parts, Lobos al anochecer and El Rafael Pernett y Morales, in his pop- of old, with scenarios and circumstances Jardín de las cenizas, were published in ulist and emblematic Loma ardiente y which remind us of provincial morality 2006 and 2011, respectively. vestida de sol, creates a raw narrative and customs. Manosanta by Rafael Ruiloba, a about Panama City that is relevant to any Rosa María Britton is one of Panamá’s strong novel with noteworthy content, is poverty-ridden place in Latin America. most prolific and widely read female one of the best to be published in pres- Justo Arroyo, another recipient of mul- authors. Hers is the persona of the ent-day Panamá. Juan David Morgan, a tiple Miró Prizes, is well-known for his born storyteller. Her boundless joy and serious, scholarly writer whose nom de novels Dedos, Dejando atrás el hombre de delightful way of weaving stories brings plume is Jorge Thomas, gifts us with Con celofán, Capricornio en gris, Semana sin us works which constantly surpass ardientes fulgores de Gloria, a timely, well viernes and Réquiem para un duende. themselves, capturing a vast readership; documented oeuvre about ourselves, our Our literature lacks its fair share of among them, El ataúd de uso is perhaps history and destiny. His El caballo de oro novels by female authors, save for some her best, as it tells a story we believe we is a well-crafted account of the construc- exceptions. To wit, Luisa Aguilera Pati- knew but which grows before our eyes, tion of the first Trans-isthmean railway. ño, El secreto de Antatura, Miró Prize tears itself from our grasp and becomes Among this writer’s works not dealing 1953; Acracia Sarasqueta de Smith, Miró something entirely new. with Panamanian topics, El Silencio de Prize 1962 for El guerrero, also author of Another writer whose work and pres- Gaudí stands out. It reflects a surprising Una dama de primera, which Rodrigo ence are essential to any review of Pana- side of our religion, endowing it with a Miró once recommended to me: “you manian literature is Gloria Guardia, a privileged position for this day and age of should read it, it is very interesting, the member of the Panamanian Academy of scant miracles. characters are very well fleshed out, and Language; essayist, critic and racconteur. I have claimed in this article that the she describes and narrates each situa- Her novels, some of which have been Panamanian novel portrays history as “magnificent fiction” because a large por- tion of the genre has been based on the circumstances of our geography and events In the cosmos of universal literature, the strength of which, both yesterday and today, could the Spanish-American novel stands out as an example be overwhelming and seemed impossible to recreate. However, for better or worse, of great evolution, richness, technical innovation and notwithstanding the scars which and sustained productivity. Panamanian literature remain from our past and human condition, our history has also imbued our belongs to this great, exceptional and mythical world liberal arts with a permanent nuance of of Spanish-American literature. That is indeed a hyperbole and surprise; of intensity and magic, which, at the end of the day, sum- geographical and cultural gift, but it also is and will marizes this literary genre, especially as it continue to be the greatest challenge for the identity pertains to the Hispanic world. of Panamanian literature, especially the novel. Berna Burrell is a Panamanian novelist and literary critic. Her latest novel is La envidia es color de arsénico, 2005. tion quite tastefully.” Yolanda Camarano reprinted several times and translated She is a member of the Panamanian de Sucre is another woman novelist with into English, Italian, Macedonian and Academy of Language. La Doña del Paz, Miró Prize 1966, and Russian, depict our history boldly. Start- Los Capelli, which garnered the award ing from Tiniebla blanca, 1961, winner of Ana Amado, who translated this article, the following year. Both works set forth, a gold medal from the Society of Spanish was part of the five-person team that in a picturesque and realistic manner, and Hispanic American Writers, the fol- translated the Panama Canal Opera- how foreigners see Panamá and Pana- lowing have earned awards: 1966, Miró tions Manual. Besides writing the main manians. Prize for Despertar sin raíces, a tandem cover story for La Prensa’s weekly food Isis Tejeira deserves a special men- win with her essay Orígenes del Modern- edition, she writes a Sunday column tion for her novel Sin fecha fija, which ismo. In 1976, she received the Central which she says strives to be like William excels in its use of narrative to denounce American Prize for Novels in Costa Rica Safire channeling the Tower of Babel.

60 ReVista SPRING 2013 BIODIVERSITY

As a strategic land bridge between North and South America, Panamá provides a rich laboratory for scientists to examine changes in biodiversity. It is home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Biomuseo, Frank Gehry’s first building in Latin America.

n A Century of the Smithsonian Institution on the Isthmus of Panamá 62 n Building the Biomuseo 66 n Degreening Panamá 69

PHOTO COURTESY OF LINA VEGA PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

A Century of the Smithsonian Institution on the Isthmus of Panamá

Discovering Tropical Diversity BY IRA RUBINOFF

THE AVERAGE VISITOR TO PANAMÁ MIGHT NOT banks, the Panama Canal Authority has Hence, scientists—including Thomas be attracted to a site that hosts a hundred joined with STRI in a comprehensive Barbour, the director of Harvard’s Muse- species of cockroaches and 41 species of “salvage paleontology” project. Scien- um of Comparative Zoology at Harvard— snakes. But Barro Colorado is a mecca tists from STRI, the University of Flori- wanted a permanent and protected area. for scientists interested in biodiversity. da and several institutions in Colombia They petitioned the governor of the Canal The island, a field station of the and Venezuela, with support from the Zone to set aside a permanent biological Smithsonian Tropical Research Insti- Panama Canal Authority and the United reserve where the flora and fauna would tute (STRI), is a reserve that reflects States’ National Science Foundation, be safe for scientific study. Governor Panamá’s special geological history as a have worked in front of the bulldozers James J. Morrow agreed, and set aside strategic land bridge between North and to extract the wealth of fossils ranging the largest island in Gatún Lake, Barro South America. The country in general from the teeth of extinct species of sharks Colorado Island (BCI), formed by the and Barro Colorado in particular provide to the remains of extinct horses, turtles, damming of the Chagres River to estab- a rich laboratory for scientists to examine rhinoceroses, manatees, etc. It will lish the main fresh-water body facilitating changes in biodiversity. Understanding require decades and the work of many the inter-oceanic passage of marine com- the ecology and evolution of the diversity paleontologists to describe and analyze merce. This 3,700-acre island became the of life on our planet remains a key scien- this fossil abundance. workshop for much of the research per- tific endeavor of our time. The STRI— The seeds for all this research were formed in the New World tropics in the using its first Panamanian lowland field sown back in 1910, just a few years after early 20th century. As the fauna and flora station as a base—has expanded its Panamanian independence from Colom- became better known through research, research to the Andean mountains to the bia. The Smithsonian Institution, a scien- scientists began to study the behavior and Amazon and even the African savannah. tific and cultural trust of the United States, ecology of the island’s biota. These studies Today, STRI is a platform for long- was asked to perform a biological inven- attracted more and more scientists from term research on biodiversity, ecosys- tory of the Panama Canal Zone. It imme- around the world until BCI was sometime tems and impacts of environmental diately began to organize a group of scien- referred to as the mecca for biologists. change. Global climate systems and life tists to do the survey. It wasn’t long before on the planet have always been in flux. It the government of Panamá asked the Sec- is essential that we provide policy mak- retary of the Smithsonian Institution to ers with long-term data on the dynamic extend this survey over all of the provinces changes of forests and marine systems of the newly formed Republic. Thus began around the globe to distinguish the a long and scientifically fruitful collabora- components of global change that can tion between these two nations. be ascribed to planetary processes from Survey results took several years to those caused by human activity. be published because of their complex- And now these investigations are no ity and detail. Many of the scientists longer just the territory of biologists; involved continued their interest in Pan- the current widening and expansion amanian natural history over the longer of the Panama Canal and ongoing con- term, returning frequently for additional struction of a third set of locks has pro- fieldwork and collecting expeditions. vided an opportunity for remarkable Then as now, if scientists turned their cooperation between the Panama Canal back on an important study site, it was Authority and paleontologists. Recogniz- likely to be converted into a strip mall or, ing that the canal’s expansion required in the case of the Panama Canal Zone, removing the forest that covered many into a government commissary or U.S. known fossil deposits along the canal’s military base.

62 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY (LEFT AND MIDDLE) CHRISTIAN ZIEGLER; (RIGHT) JUSTIN D. YEAGER ARTIST CREDIT NAME AND URL BIODIVERSITY

With World War II underway, the Smithsonian Institution in 1946 under a the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and their important research on BCI faced a pos- government reorganization act signed by many archipelagos, to the highlands sible threat. The scientific community President Harry Truman. Barro Colorado of Chiriquí Province, the vast, hardly worried that since the Island’s reserve Island is an enormously diverse tropical explored forests of Darien; to the Andes status depended upon a decree of the habitat: 5 species of primates; 5 species of Colombia and Ecuador; to the Ama- governor of the Canal Zone (usually a of cats; 6 species of opossums; 74 species zon of Perú and Brazil; and to the rain- major general in the U.S. Army Corps of of bats; 384 species of birds; 33 species of forests of Asia, the savannahs of Africa or Engineers) some military purpose might frogs and toads; 23 species of lizards, 41 the highlands of Papua New Guinea. This seem imperative and the island’s sta- species of snakes; more than 400 species increased geographic scope prompted tus could be converted into something of ants including 28 species of army ants; the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of more appropriate to the war effort. To 100 species of cockroaches; between 500- Regents to approve a name change in ensure that the island wasn’t turned into 600 species of butterflies, perhaps 2,000 1966, calling its branch the Smithson- a bombing range or golf course, the U.S. species of moths and tens of thousands ian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) to Congress in 1940 created the Canal Zone of other insects, many not yet described. reflect its broadened research scope, no Biological Area (CZBA) as a separate Moreover, there are some 1500 species longer confined to BCI, the Canal Zone governmental agency to be administered of plants for all of these animals to nest or even the Isthmus of Panama. by a board of directors made up of promi- in, hide in, feed on, and generally inter- Of course, the public and the scientific nent scientists, including the Secretary of act in an ever dynamic ecosystem—the community expect much more of biodi- the Smithsonian Institution. The CZBA details of which generations of scientists versity than lists of the organisms found struggled throughout the war since the have endeavored to understand with in the area. And modern science has Congress argued that the research on increasing precision. In addition, there provided a much broader understanding biodiversity (a term not yet coined) was are unknown thousands of fungi, bacte- of the economic, health, and ecosystem not sufficiently relevant to the war effort ria and viruses that catalyze the exchange values of much of this diversity. In some to warrant any financial appropriations. of nutrients, regulate decomposition and cases, we realize that an ecosystem may generally help the ecosystem function. be dependent upon a “keystone” species— THE BIRTH OF THE SMITHSONIAN Barro Colorado Island is an excel- one whose removal may lead to the col- TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE lent example of one important type of lapse of many others. A cascading “domi- Immediately following World War II, tropical ecosystem—a lowland seasonal no effect” may occur whereby the removal many small government agencies formed forest. However, tropical biologists are of a key fig tree species may result in the during the war were either eliminated concerned with all the diverse habitats extinction of certain mammals, birds, if they no longer had a purpose or were of the world’s tropics. The Smithsonian’s insects and other organisms dependent incorporated into larger organizations. scientists in Panamá began to expand upon that single species to sustain them The CZBA officially became a bureau of the their investigations off the island; to through the food scarcity of the dry sea-

Left: Aerial photograph of Barro Colorado Island. In the Panama Canal Treaty of 1974, the Island and the adjacent mainland peninsulas were declared to be a “Nature Monument” (an area set aside for strict scientific purposes) under the terms of the Western Hemisphere Convention for the Protection of Flora and Fauna; Middle: Aerial view of the research facilities on Barro Colorado Island including dormitories, dining hall, seminar rooms and laboratories; Right: The little red and blue frog is an example of a transexual species that changes its sex over the course of its lifetime.

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son. Research at STRI helped overturn the conventional wisdom that the tropics are dominated by stable communities of highly co-adapted organisms. Large- scale forest plots, first pioneered on Barro Colorado Island in 1980, allow long-term examination of processes that shape tropical forests. These monitoring plots have now been established at 47 sites in 21 countries, enabling forest scientists to make a census of 4.5 million trees of 8,500 species and for the first time allowing comparisons of both tropical and tem- perate forests with measurements taken using identical protocols. Data from these plots have resulted in almost 1,000 scientific publications and have been crucial in shaping our ideas about the origins and maintenance of biodiversity. Progress has also been made in evalu- ating the “ecosystem services” of a rainforest. The Panama Canal is arguably one of the most important watersheds on this planet with some 5 percent of world commerce dependent upon it. The watershed plays four critical roles: providing the basic supply of fresh water for the canal; that of a sponge, absorbing excess water in the rainy season and releasing it more slowly during the dry season when a scarcity of water could limit the draught requirement of ships passing through the canal; the potable water supply for the port cities of Colón and Panama City; and the generation of hydroelectric power. During the rainy season, the for- ested watersheds slow runoff, preventing catastrophic canal—threatening floods, erosion and costly sedimentation of the Alajuela and Gatún Lakes. STRI research has informed the Pan- ama Canal Authority on how to reforest with native species, identifying native species of trees such as those in the genus Clu- sia which effectively control soil erosion while at the same time using only a small amount of water for their own respiration in comparison to species such as teak (Tec- tona) or mahogany (Swietenia). As carbon has become a tradable commodity, STRI research has contributed to methodolo- Construction crane in an Atlantic Coast forest reserve facilitating convenient access to the gies for measuring the carbon content of canopy of a rainforest for studies of insect biodiversity and plant physiology. different forest and for assessing whether

64 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO BY MARCOS GUERRA BIODIVERSITY

these values are increasing or decreasing. Concern about the exchange of life and heart stoppage in vulnerable spe- STRI investigations have not been between the Atlantic and Pacific peaked cies. STRI is working with Panamanian limited to documenting the diversity of in the 1960s when exploration about and North American organizations to living plants and animals but also serve the use of nuclear devices in construct- get protected populations of frogs and to describe the extinct biota. These stud- ing harbors and canals led to numer- toads into laboratory culture for eventual ies contribute to our understanding of ous studies by marine biologists (this release back into nature when a means of past diversity and the geological and cli- author included). The research analyzed dealing with the infection is developed. mate changes that have contributed to the possible consequences of allowing The Republic of Panamá and espe- the shaping of the Western Hemisphere organisms long isolated in one ocean to cially the National Authority for Natu- and how these changes affect the rest of freely invade another where they were ral Resources (ANAM) has used STRI the planet in diverse ways. not adapted to prey, predators and oce- research to decide where to establish pro- The rise of the Isthmus of Panamá anic conditions. The question of whether tected areas. Our research contributed to occurred about 3.5 million years ago, facil- the presence of exotic species in areas establishing the national parks of Sober- itating the migration of South American where they might not be controlled by anía, Bocas del Toro, Campana, Coiba organisms northward and North Ameri- their usual limiting predators and/or dis- and others. In recent years, STRI—with can organisms southward. Most South eases contributed to the decision not to support from the National Science Foun- American animal species became extinct; construct a canal at sea level but rather dation, the National Institute of Health, in the North, large groups of mammals to maintain the fresh water barrier of many universities, the private sector and such as elephants, camels, horses, rhi- Gatún Lake. Now STRI scientists are think tanks, has begun to explore the nos also ceased to exist—a process aided able to distinguish native and invasive rich biological diversity of these national perhaps by the arrival of humans at least species using molecular genetics tech- parks for the first ecologically guided 13,000 years ago, who with their stone nology, eliminating some of the guess- program for bio-prospecting—seeking tools and fire were able to change the work about whether a new species truly natural products which may have phar- complexion of the Western Hemisphere. represented a new arrival or was only a maceutical properties. The long process The completion of the land bridge had previously undiscovered resident. of “drug discovery” is proceeding with another impact with global consequenc- Biological diversity in Panamá, as in STRI cooperation in both the marine es. It cut off the warm, westward flowing many places, is threatened by over fishing, and terrestrial habitats of Panamá. equatorial current, deflecting it north- clearing of forests for agriculture especial- Biodiversity is complicated, sometimes ward, facilitating conditions capable of ly cattle rearing, coastal recreation, urban poorly understood and even occasionally supporting human habitation of West- development and pollution in the form reviled by people who believe that having ern Europe. At the same time the Gulf of fertilizers and pesticides of all types. seen “one redwood” they have seen them Stream may have moved enough mois- The diversity of Panamá’s coral reefs is all. It is important that STRI shares the ture northward to promote glaciations in being affected by runoff from the land, knowledge it has gained about biodiver- North America and, in some views, also ocean warming, acidification and a series sity with others. Many of our facilities are providing the arid conditions in Africa of recently identified diseases, some of open to the public and have programs that possibly contributed to our homi- whose origins are still unclear to science. designed for teacher training to integrate nid ancestors descending from trees and On land, amphibians, especially with and augment the science curricula of becoming biped hunter-gathers leading high-altitude species, are facing serious the Ministry of Education of Panamá. to modern man. The Isthmus of Panamá danger and even extinction because of STRI’s marine laboratory in Bocas del Toro changed the world in many ways and the spread of a fungal disease. The fun- provides scientists with access to the rich continues to do so today. gus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, mangrove and coral reef diversity of Pan- As mentioned above, paleontolo- apparently causes electrolyte imbalance amá’s Caribbean shores. gists are working literally in front of the bulldozers to recover the past. Another aspect of STRI’s biodiversity research relates to the shipping from around the world that passes through the canal. This movement often enables exotic species to invade new geographic areas, either as organisms trapped in ballast tanks or as the growth of organisms that constitute the fouling attached to the bottoms of ships and barges.

PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN ZIEGLER DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 65 PANAMÁ: CROSSROADS OF THE AMERICAS

As we look to the future of STRI in Panamá, we see an opportunity to build on the innovations that have emerged from this Institute in the last fifty years. A number of STRI “firsts” in the science and in the tropics make this ambition appear reasonable. We were the first to employ construction cranes to examine the biodiversity of organisms associated with the canopy of forest trees and to study the photosynthetic processes at this difficult to access inter- face between the biosphere and atmosphere. Barro Colorado Island also broke ground in remotely monitoring animal behavior using automated telemetry systems. And our work on cryptic female choice in insects and birds and sex change over the course of the lives of many reef fishes have helped explain the evolutionary significance of sex. These are just a few examples of our innovation, invention and intellectual leadership. We are now poised to explore the value of becoming a “stand alone” graduate university. As it is, we currently provided hundred of fellowships to students at all levels from more than 40 nations every year. Many students pursue their doctoral thesis work here and even more their post-doctoral studies. It seems less than efficient for students of tropical science to need to spend a year of their Building the Biomuseo graduate work in Chicago, New York or Montreal before beginning their dis- Frank Gehry’s First Building in Latin America sertation on research questions that need to be pursued in the tropics. Why BY DARIÉN MONTAÑEZ not provide the full university experience in a location where the partnership between the Republic of Panamá and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute PANAMA CITY, THE FIRST CITY IN THE WEST- more compelling is taking shape at the already provides the background, facili- ern Hemisphere to be founded on the west end of the city. The Amador Pen- ties and intellectual experience to effec- Pacific Coast, is today a vibrant, busy insula, tucked between the Old Quar- tively train the next generation of tropi- tropical metropolis. Panama City is a ter and the Panama Canal, is now the cal scientists? place of contrasts. Its towering sky- home of the Biomuseo, a new natural scrapers—including the tallest in Latin history museum that tells the story of Ira Rubinoff was Director of the Smith- America—line the Bay of Panama, a how Panamá changed the world. This sonian Tropical Research Institute from little over a mile from the tropical rain- extraordinary tale will be housed in an 1974 until 2008. He is currently at STRI forests of our National Parks. While extraordinary new building designed as Director Emeritus and Senior Scien- new towers are constantly rising on the by Frank Gehry. tist. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard eastern reaches of the waterfont—Pait- Although Gehry had visited Pan- University in 1964. illa and Punta Pacífica—something far amá many times—his wife, Berta, is

66 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS (ABOVE) BY DARIÉN MONTAÑEZ; (BELOW) BY VICTORIA MURILLO BIODIVERSITY

Above: A mockup of the Biomuseo; standing upon its cultural and natural what is happening to it today. From there Below: Constructing the Biomuseo landscapes. The exhibition design seeks we pass to Panamarama, a triple-height to create museum experiences that projection space with screens all around Panamanian—he had never designed a encourage and permit rich, varied and that presents an audiovisual journey project in Latin America. His acclaimed accessible opportunities to understand through Panamá’s diverse natural land- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in Spain, what natural science makes possible. scapes. The third gallery is called Build- opened to the public in October 1997. 2. To Network: Panamá is the museum, ing the Bridge, where we learn about the The following years saw the city of Bil- the Biomuseo is the interchange. In every geological processes that, over millions of bao morph from an obscure industrial exhibit area, and with every message, the years, caused the Isthmus of Panamá to city into a world-famous cultural desti- purpose is to focus attention, energy and rise from the bottom of the ocean. nation, with Gehry’s Guggenheim identi- intelligence out and across the whole Three million years ago, Panamá fied as the main catalyst of this change. country. The Biomuseo is a network hub, first connected North America and This success story became a well-docu- a place where visitors can orient them- South America and allowed two very mented case study to show the benefits selves to the wealth of natural and cul- different faunas to meet. Worlds Col- of high-visibility cultural buildings, and tural assets across Panamá. lide, the fourth gallery, represents the many governments—including Pan- 3. To Declare: The three primary goals Great American Biotic Interchange, amá’s—became interested in replicating of the project are interdependent. No two with 97 full-size sculptures of animals this “Bilbao effect.” At the Bilbao opening can succeed in the long term without the that crossed the Isthmus in both direc- were Rodrigo Eisenmann and his wife third. This is most critically the case for tions. These range in size from a shrew Chabelita, a cousin of Berta Gehry’s, and its declarative purposes. The building, its and a frog that measure a few inches to they approached Gehry with a sugges- exhibitions, its park setting and its oper- the 8-foot-tall Cuvier’s mastodon and the tion to design a museum for Panama City. ating program must combine to produce 13-foot Hermit Ground Sloth. After returning to Panamá, Eisenmann, a very special celebratory effect. The proj- Among the most recent migrants his cousin Roberto Eisenmann, and a ect must be a landmark, broadcasting an to use this land bridge to cross from number of Panamanians established the image of the best of Panamá far beyond North America into South America were nonprofit foundation, Fundación Ama- its Amador setting on the city’s water- humans. Our gallery The Human Path dor, and began lobbying for the project; front. It must express a new sensibility, a tells the story of human presence in Pan- in 2001, they secured government funds new valuation of Panamá’s ancestral lay- amá, from the first Paleoindians who to build the Biomuseo. ers and a new national spirit. arrived 13,000 years ago to the present. The scientific content of the museum, From there we move to Oceans Divided, the exhibits that would tell the story, and The history of the Isthmus of Panamá, which is the oceanic counterpart to the the building that would house the exhib- a so-called “bridge of life” between con- Building the Bridge story. When the two its were developed in a series of work- tinents, peoples and ideas, is a story of halves of the continent came together, shops in Panamá and the United States, connections made and connections bro- Panamá joined two land masses and where Gehry Partners’ team of architects ken. This story is told in the Biomuseo’s separated what used to be a single tropi- was joined by scientists from the Uni- eight galleries, each of which embodies cal ocean into two. Today, the Caribbean versity of Panama and the Smithson- one chapter of this tale. A visit to the and the Pacific are very different, and in ian Tropical Research Institute, exhibit Biomuseo is designed as a journey, with this gallery we’ll learn how Panamá cre- designers from Bruce Mau Design, and spaces structured to accommodate dif- ated these differences. The seventh gal- landscape designer Edwina von Gal. The ferent group sizes and levels of engage- lery is The Living Web, which presents outcome of this iterative, collaborative ment. Each gallery is anchored by a the tropical rainforest as the environ- design process is a museum where archi- “Device of Wonder”: a large-scale, visu- ment where biodiversity reaches its apex. tecture, landscape and exhibitions blend ally engaging element that is the artistic A giant sculpture—part animal, part to become a synthetic whole. In the Bio- representation of the basic scientific idea plant—fills the space and shows how all museo, form and content will be under- of the space. The Devices of Wonder turn living organisms are connected by a web stood and experienced by a visitor as one the visitor into a more active participant of interdependent relationships, includ- intertwined narrative. in the search for answers: they pull the ing symbiosis, predation and parasitism. The design of the building and exhib- visitor towards information, rather than The final gallery, Panamá Is the - Muse its were guided by three principles: pushing information at the visitor. um, reminds the visitor that everything 1. To Educate: Biomuseo is, first, a The visit begins at the Gallery of Biodi- they’ve seen is a symbol, and that the real place for learning. Through the museum, versity, a sloping hallway that introduces museum is outside: the country itself. Panamá gains a profound opportunity the concepts developed further on: what The Biomuseo sits on a 7.5-acre site to imprint its collective scientific under- is biodiversity, what are its benefits, and at the tip of Amador Peninsula, at the

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mouth of the Panama Canal. The museum building occupies the middle of a botanical park that will be free to the public, becoming a contribution that the Biomuseo makes to Panama City’s public park system. The park is orga- nized in thematic areas that expand on the topics presented by the galleries and complements them with larger, living exhibits, including Plants from the North and South, Ethnobotany, and the Butterfly Forest. These zones are anchored by a shaded pavilion that provides a place to sit down and study the surroundings, but the space also includes giant planters filled with flowers, a frog pond and a grotto overgrown with epi- phytes and mosses. Panamá builds a lot, and it builds fast, but constructing a world-class building has been a big challenge. The Biomuseo is by far the most complicated project ever built in the region, with a set of construction drawings that is reaching 20,000 sheets, and it requires materials and construction systems that are not usually employed in the country. The project has thus served to train hundreds of local contractors and dozens of local construction companies. The going has been tough, facing fundraising and construction problems, but local support has grown steadily, especially in the last few years. In December 2009 we launched our Friends of Biomuseo program, and to this date we have almost 700 members: the largest membership program of all the museums in Panama City. After twelve years of hard work, we are fast approaching the finish line: Biomuseo will open to the public this year. Construction workers put together the elaborate roof of the Biomuseo. We are particularly interested in establishing a close connection between materials to assure that the student vis- lation, as well as planning a series of the Biomuseo and the Panamanian its to the museum are closely connected opening ceremonies that will span over school system. Our plan is ambitious: to the national standards. The visits will a whole month. So, if you’re thinking of we want to host 40,000 schoolchildren focus on the science that produced the visiting Panamá, 2013 is definitely a good every year through our educational pro- content, promoting critical thinking and time to come. Come to the Biomuseo, grams, which aim to strengthen the links awareness of our cultural and natural learn how Panamá changed the world between Panamanian museums and heritage. three million years ago, and how you can schools. To accomplish this goal, our The Biomuseo celebrates Panamá for change it today. education department has spent more it biological and cultural diversity, and a than a year working with the Ministry celebration is definitely due. We are busy Darién Montañez is the Coordinator of of Education on teacher workshops and wrapping up construction and instal- Exhibit Production for the Biomuseo.

68 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTO BY JUNE CAROLYN ERLICK BIODIVERSITY

Degreening Panamá

Growth and Environment BY LINA VEGA ABAD AND RAISA BANFIELD

PANAMÁ IS IN THE NEWS. ALTHOUGH IT’S A At present, with the expansion of the world in relation to its size— with more small country of only 75 square kilo- Panama Canal advancing full steam ahead, vertebrate animals than anywhere else in meters, it’s a place where many want to the entire country seems to be under Central America or the Caribbean and a invest, do business, work and live. The major construction. Projects range from greater number of bird species than in reason: an astonishing economic growth state-sponsored infrastructure such as the the United States and Canada combined. rate that reached 10 percent in the sec- Panama City metro, highways, hospitals, As surprising as it sounds, Panamá has ond trimester of 2012. And that’s in the airports and markets to private invest- 21 times more plant species per square midst of an economic crisis across almost ments such as unsystematic, runaway kilometer than Brazil. the entire planet. building of residential and hotel projects, The other side of the coin is the grave At the same time that Panamá’s econ- the construction of hydroelectric plants problem of erosion and deterioration omy is expanding, its natural resources and numerous open pit mining projects. of soil. According to the United Nations are being attacked relentlessly. Yet the Both local and international mar- Environment Programme (UNEP), Pan- economic value of the country’s rich bio- ket forces have found a strong ally— amá’s soil is one of the most degraded in diversity, under threat from this contin- an accomplice even—in the present Latin America. Moreover, almost all of its ued exploitation of natural resources, is government. The system of resource pro- water sources have problems of sedimen- thus far unknown. tection initiated with the 1998 General tation and pollution, severely affecting the The assault on Panamá’s natural envi- Environmental Law and the creation of productive capacity of its regions. In Pan- ronment began in the 1990s, with the con- the National Environmental Author- amá, the earth is producing less and less. struction of infrastructure megaprojects ity (known by its Spanish acronym as Another tragedy is the irreparable such as the northern and southern express- ANAM), has effectively been dismantled. process of the destruction of forests. ways leading into Panama City. It didn’t The only exception is the canal. Some 175,000 acres of the 19 million that matter that the megaprojects cut through Shielded from political whims by consti- make up the Panamanian territory are parks, isolated animal and bird species, tutional mechanisms and a culture that deforested every year, producing a chain dried up rivers or destroyed forests. Under values professional merit, the adminis- of destruction that includes unique spe- the current administration of President tration of the waterway maintains a pro- cies of plants and animals. Ricardo Martinelli, systematic and relent- gram of protection of water sources for Among the most affected species are less destruction of natural resources has an obvious reason: if there is no water, mangroves, in areas that are highly cov- reached unprecedented levels. the canal does not function. However, eted by developers for marinas, ports, Panamá’s geographical location— not everything is rose-colored in terms golf courses and seaside hotels. Although albeit in one of the most biodiverse of the canal: the deforestation and pollu- Panamá signed the Ramsar Convention regions of the planet—has determined tion that affect the rest of the country are on Wetlands in 1989 and hosts five spots its local economic model. From the his- steadily advancing in its direction. categorized as “wetlands of international toric Camino de Cruces, along which importance” (the Panama Bay; the Gulf the Spanish colonial powers sent all the THREATENED BIODIVERSITY of Montijo in Veraguas Province; San wealth to Europe after having extracted Panamá is a paradise of biodiversity; it San Pond Sak in Bocas del Toro Prov- it from the earth starting in the 15th is no coincidence that the Smithsonian ince; Patiño Point in Darién Province and century, to the railroad of the “gold rush Institute for Tropical Investigations has Damani Guariviria in the Gnobe Bugle years,” and finally to the interoceanic flourished here since 1910. Generations region), their present status is quite criti- canal now undergoing a major expan- of scientists from around the world have cal. In the last 40 years, more than half the sion, the country’s location had ever come to Panamá to study its rich and var- mangrove swamps have been destroyed, determined its economy, which cur- ied wildlife. particularly along the Pacific Coast. rently focuses on financial services and According to ANAM’s most recent The Martinelli government, it seems, international transport of merchandise. National Report on Biodiversity (Informe respects no legal protection. If a law has The concept of sustainable development Nacional de Biodiversidad 2010), Pan- to be changed, it is changed. If it is neces- seems to be a mystery to the country’s amá ranks 28th worldwide in terms of sary to suspend a protection guaranteed main economic actors. biological diversity—and 10th in the by law, the Supreme Court of Justice is

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utilized to make the change. And this conflicts, especially in the indigenous tion of electricity without planning, thus legislative bulldozing has direct, negative areas in the eastern part of Chiriquí failing to protect the basins and ignoring effects on Panamá’s natural resources. province, which has the largest unex- the water needs of the general popula- Take the example of fishing. Legisla- ploited copper deposit in the world. tion, let alone the huge demand in the tive changes and regulations about it Mining this area would cause irrevers- agricultural or tourism sectors. Almost as enacted by the Panamanian Water ible damage to the zone’s lands and riv- all the waterways are designated for the Resources Authority have had a dire ers, directly affecting more than 160,000 production of electric energy. effect on coastal marine resources. Fish- Gnobe indigenous peoples, and infring- Panamá provides a clear case of the ing yields suffered a 20.7 percent decline ing on the Coiba National Park, which disproportional exploitation of a natural in the second trimester of 2012 and 22 had been declared Patrimony of Human- resource. Bocas del Toro, one of the poor- percent in the first half of the year. ity by UNESCO. est provinces in the country, produces In Panamá’s central region, a mining 42 percent of Panamá’s energy, while its DESTRUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT project threatens the headwaters of the population consumes less than 1 percent. While fishing and agricultural produc- rivers and springs for more than 230,000 Panama City, home to around 30 percent tion are in decline in Panamá, gold and inhabitants of the region—a heavily agri- of Panamá’s population, consumes more copper mining is on the rise. Gold has cultural one where water sources already than 60 percent of the energy generated been Panamá’s number one export item show high levels of sediments and con- in the country, without any norms to reg- since 2011, when large-scale open pit tamination from pesticides and agro- ulate consumption, stimulate efficiency mining began, in the heart of Mesoamer- chemical products. or reduce waste. ica’s corridor of biodiversity. Panamá’s Energy generation is another source of Buildings on the beach demand Chamber of Mining is forcefully promot- grave socio-environmental conflict. The around-the-clock air conditioning to ing extractive activity in twelve gold and energy market, like those in many other avoid physical deterioration; at the same copper sites without taking into account countries in Latin America, has been time, regulations that encourage energy- the ensuing environmental problems. opened to private companies. The state efficient designs are lacking. Eventu- Mining has already provoked social offers water concessions for the genera- ally, their excessive energy consumption

70 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS COURTESY OF LINA VEGA BIODIVERSITY

Views of Petaquilla, a gold-mining complex. Panamá must realize that the economy of a nation should always take environmental effects into account. ends up taxing rural communities and intense rains, are more serious every year. economy of a nation should always take their natural resources. At the end of last November, floods exac- environmental effects into account. Panama City—and in reality the erbated by the destruction of mangroves entire country—is growing rapidly with- and construction in vulnerable areas left Lina Vega Abad is a lawyer and jour- out bounds or clear norms. The market, 5,000 people displaced and several dead, nalist. She has worked at La Prensa de with the famous building boom and with substantial economic damage to the Panamá since 1999, where she has served accompanying speculation, establishes city of Colón and areas west of the capital. as an editor of various sections, including the parameters—or lack thereof. Land Water swept away everything in its path. opinion, city, politics, news and the inves- use change—the most important cause The environmental picture could be tigative unit. She is presently a columnist of emissions of CO2 in Latin America— improved with the reinstatement of the and coordinator of a Citizen Journal- creates the constant loss of green zones, ANAM, along with the ecological policies ism program. She founded the Center public spaces and urban forests in the developed during several previous Pana- for Environmental Impact and is now a metropolitan area. Without active and manian administrations. Panamá needs member of its board. She was the former determined citizen participation, this a serious and coherent environmental director of the Panamanian chapter of urban malaise cannot be stopped. policy in keeping with the vulnerability Transparency International. In addition, Panamá still lacks a pol- and richness of our environment. icy on climate change that will help us Panamá has the potential to be a Raisa G. Banfield is an architect and an adapt to the changes in temperature, soil regional model of environmental sus- environmental activist. She hosts a week- and weather patterns. We simply deal tainability because of its great natural ly television show Cuidando El Planeta 3 with these changes when there is a crisis resources, its geographic location and the (Taking Care of the Planet 3). Founding and don’t think about how they could be strength of its service sector. But it must director of the Center for Environmental prevented or prepared for. strengthen clean industries and reject Impact, she presently directs the organi- The consequences of ecosystem those which abuse its natural resources zation Panamá Sostenible (Sustainable destruction, added to the lack of preven- and leave serious environmental exter- Panamá) to promote alternatives to prac- tive measures in the face of increasingly nalities. Panamá must realize that the tices that damage the environment.

DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 71 BOOK TALK

Anarchic Jesters: Political Resistance Through Art

A REVIEW BY LARRY ROHTER

Brazilian Art under such as painting and sculp- film the disgusted reaction Dictatorship ture in favor of ephemeral of passersby and, eventu- by Claudia Calirman actions and interventions,” ally, the police. “Viewers (Duke University Press, she writes, thereby “challeng- were meant to perceive these 2012, 232 pp.) ing the dictatorship while at gruesome bundles as lacer- the same time staying beneath ated and bleeding human Discussions of cultural its radar.” body parts, perhaps even the resistance to the dictatorship The key word here is remains of people tortured by that ruled Brazil from 1964 “ephemeral.” By avoiding the dictatorship,” Calirman to 1985 tend to focus on two traditional forms, Brazilian explains, or criminals killed different centers of creative artists not only saved money by the official death squads protest. One is the group on materials, an important that flourished at the time in of musicians affiliated with consideration in a country Brazil’s large cities. the Tropicalista movement, that was then largely poor, Cildo Meireles, probably especially Gilberto Gil and but also lowered the risk that now the most commercially Caetano Veloso, both of the military government and successful of the three artists whom are today global cul- its extensive apparatus of cen- examined here, took a more tural figures. The other is the sorship and repression would sly and subtle approach. In is probably Antonio Manuel’s conceptual and performance be able to seize, or even locate one of his best-known “inser- signature 1969 piece “Soy loco artist Hélio Oiticica, who or identify, the works that tions,” which took place in por ti,” discussed at length invented the term “Tropicália” were being created in opposi- 1970 at the peak of political in Calirman’s book, which but died young, at the age of tion to the dictatorship. And repression, he took Coca-Cola recently was voted book of the 42, in 1980, just as his renown by producing portable works bottles, used a silkscreen to year by the Association for was beginning to spread that were not meant to last, engrave anti-American and Latin American Art. With a beyond Brazil. artists could also work outside anti-government messages title derived from one of Gil- In Brazilian Art under the structure of museums, on them, and then sent them berto Gil’s songs, the instal- Dictatorship, Claudia Calir- galleries and exhibitions like back into circulation, with lation, made of a mixture of man, a Brazilian-born assis- the São Paulo Biennial, all the messages becoming leg- wood, cloth, plastic and rope, tant professor of Art History of which were closely watched ible when the bottles were consists of a blood-red map at the City University of New by censors. re-filled. In a similar project of South America on a black York, broadens our scope The cover image of Brazil- with banknotes, he stamped background, with a grass considerably by examin- ian Art under Dictatorship political slogans and the bed underneath the painted ing the work of three other offers an especially powerful names of political prisoners map. Censors didn’t like the visual artists who challenged example of this approach. It on the backs of bills, making color scheme, which they right-wing military rule in portrays one of Artur Barrio’s the military regime livid with saw as advocating Commu- ways that were both original so-called “bloody bundles,” anger but also showing its nism and anarchism, but the and playful. Antonio Manuel, which he created out of a mix- impotence. “In today’s terms image became an endur- Artur Barrio and Cildo Meire- ture of “garbage, urine, raw it can be compared to the ing and popular one, cited les worked in different media, meat, spit, saliva, tampons actions of Internet hackers,” repeatedly up until this day. but shared a similar sensi- and toilet paper” and dumped Calirman writes. Antonio Manuel, on the other bility and approach: “They in public places. An associate The most durable of the hand, quickly moved on to abandoned traditional forms would then photograph or works the three artists created experiment with other forms,

72 ReVista SPRING 2013 including using his own body shocking and transgressive, by submitting “a handwritten anarchic jesters, and much of or the molds of newspaper But “the Brazilian interpreta- manifesto against the salon’s the mainstream public was front pages, to create less tion of body art,” Calirman rules and its jury.” He was unaware of their attempts permanent works. explains, may have seemed outfoxed, however: “When his at transgression.” But today Calirman takes pains to less of a rupture with the manifesto was accepted by the their work, or at least the part show that the subversive past because it “stressed the jury in the drawing category, that proved not to be ephem- cultural expressions that the Dionysian associations of the Barrio was furious.” eral, is highly collectible— three artists personified did body through its incorpora- But perhaps the most Meireles’ tampered-with not exist in isolation, but tion of Carnaval festivities,” absurd and revealing of such Coke bottles, for instance. were in dialogue with other one of the most quintessen- colorful anecdotes has to do And some of the photo credits cross-currents in Brazilian life tially Brazilian public activi- with the fate of Manuel’s “Soy indicate that other works and culture. One example is ties, and “[the Carnaval’s] loco por ti.” It was purchased have ended up at the Inho- the 1928 “Manifesto Antro- liberating behavior.” Manuel by a Brazilian bank, but when, tim Center of Contemporary pofágico,” which argued that was also evoking the destruc- after two months, “the new Art outside Belo Horizonte, since the default setting of tion or degradation of the owners arrived to pick up the a new and internationally celebrated museum which accepts only the best and most significant of modern Brazilian art. The subversive cultural expressions the three artists—Antonio Calirman, who was a Manuel, Cildo Meireles and Hélio Oiticica—personified were 2008-09 Lehmann Visit- ing Scholar at the David in dialogue with other cross-currents in Brazilian life and Rockefeller Center for Latin culture during the country’s dictatorship. American Studies, takes a measured view, being careful not to overstate claims Brazilian artists is to “devour bodies of political prison- work, it had rotted” and to the importance of what European culture, digest it, ers and criminals through “was now emitting a bad these three artists achieved. and transform it into some- torture, she notes, but he was odor.” The artist himself, “It is impossible to measure thing Brazilian,” the natural able to do so in a metaphoric Calirman reports, “was non- the success or failure of their mode of Brazilian culture is way that would not draw plussed, deeming it ‘South actions,” she writes. “Likewise “cultural cannibalism.” In Bar- additional official ire. America itself exhaling its it is impossible to deny these rio’s case, she notes affinities Calirman’s book also own smell of decomposition.’ endeavors’ value as part of a between his style and that of contains some amusing, The bank paid for the installa- crucial historical moment in the acclaimed Cinema Novo little-known factual nuggets. tion but decided not to keep Brazil.” At the very least, the movement of the early 1960s, Who knew, for example, that it since it did not know how works of Antonio Manuel, since both “favored the aes- the experimental composer to restore and preserve it.” Artur Barrio, Cildo Meireles thetics and narratives of pov- John Cage, the leading global As the Brazilians themselves and others discussed here erty” and proudly embraced exponent of using aleatory like to say, “Só no Brasil,” or demonstrate that “there was a “DIY” style in opposition elements in artistic creation, “Only in Brazil.” in fact robust artistic produc- to the culture-as-industry “appeared incognito” at the From more than 40 tion during the dictatorship.” approach of reigning centers Apocalipopótese, a series of years remove, what can we Shouldn’t that be enough? of global cultural power. Happening-like events held in say about the disputatious One particularly compel- Rio de Janeiro in mid-1968, works these three artists Larry Rohter is the author ling insight has to do with conceived by Hélio Oiticica produced and of the moment of Brazil on the Rise. He was parallels between Antonio and featuring work by Anto- in which they flourished? a correspondent in Brazil for Manuel’s work and the inter- nio Manuel? And it’s hard not Ironies abound. As Calirman 14 years, for The New York national style known as “body to laugh when Artur Barrio, notes, “at the end of the day, Times and Newsweek. He is art,” which emerged around in an effort to be provoca- the government dismissed now a cultural reporter for the same time. Outside Brazil, tive, attempts to qualify for them as insignificant and The New York Times, special- that style was viewed as an exhibition in Rio in 1970 irrelevant, no more than izing in international arts.

DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 73 BOOK TALK

Drugs, Immigration and Juan Gabriel

A REVIEW BY MARCELA TURATI

Midnight in Mexico: A understanding and publishing reporters, covering la nota Reporter’s Journey Through a stories about what is going roja—‘the red note,’ as the Country’s Descent into Dark- on in his birthplace, always beat is known in Mexico,” he ness. By Alfredo Corchado hoping that the country will explains. (Penguin Press, 2013, 304 pp.) get on the right track. But his His extensive knowledge exhaustive reporting leads of Mexico makes Corchado In Mexico, the tradition goes, him to encounter rotting an excellent guide to this your heart will always remain structures of extreme corrup- netherworld where legality where your umbilical cord was tion, poverty and impunity and illegality coexist. As he buried. This place will always and to come face-to-face with observes the scene, he begins be your magnetic pole. Your the entanglements of the com- to realize—and lets the readers safe-haven. Your home. As far plex relations between Mexico know—about the murderous away as you may go, you will and the United States. shadows emerging over time, always return to that place. As a reader, many times I about the parallel government Sometimes a blessing paused exasperated because incubated by the drug market. and other times a dangerous I wanted to ask the author, He offers meaningful expla- his ancestors to try to explain curse, this belief helps drive “Aren’t you afraid? Why do nations about the insistent today’s Mexico. We return to the well-known and coura- you mention the names of violence that has overtaken the childhood of this migrant geous Mexican-American relatives and friends? What Mexico since 2006 and that worker, who, although in reporter Alfredo Corchado, happens if this book falls into never lets up because poor the country legally, always who has covered Mexico for the hands of the enemies who and excluded youth are always feared being stopped by the The Dallas Morning News for are after you? What if it stirs ready to seek opportunities by immigration authorities. We almost twenty years. This man up old resentments?” Maybe enlisting in these new armies. accompany him through his bears the tattoo of Mexico it’s because of my paranoia as Corchado, a 2009 Nie- adolescence on the border on his soul ever since lack of a Mexican reporter, perhaps man Fellow 2009 who has as he watches Ciudad Juárez opportunity led his family to it’s because of our fatalism in won both the Maria Moors expand with assembly plants migrate north to work in the the face of the cartels, perhaps Cabot and Lovejoy Awards, that gave work to thousands harvests. Corchado—whose because of my own inexperi- introduces us to a cast of without providing them with umbilical cord is indeed ence in covering drug traffick- characters: politicians who basic services for a dignified buried in Mexico—is deeply ing, but sometimes I feel that may or may not be dirty, life. He later witnesses citizens rooted in the country; and Corchado is invoking a curse citizens committed to improv- demonstrating for democracy, that attachment keeps him on himself by recounting what ing their country, migrants the signing of the Free Trade at his job even after warn- he knows about those that no who embrace the American Agreement with the United ings that he could be the next one dare name. dream, U.S. secret agents infil- States, the arrival of the long- target for a dangerous group Yet, he felt—and feels— trated among drug traffickers, announced political transi- of drug traffickers angry with that he had no other option journalists who have been tion, disenchantment and the his journalistic revelations. than to dig deeply into this silenced, small-scale traffick- period of the “war on drugs.” Corchado begins Midnight hell to find explanations. “I ers, money launderers, lawyers He is a first-hand witness to in Mexico by describing this had been determined not to with dubious reputations, U.S. the swelling violence, includ- threat. This is not simply focus on drugs or crime but embassy officials and people ing the horrific murder of one more book of the many cover other real-life issues: who are doomed to be assas- women in Juárez in which he that have been written about immigration, education, the sinated.... discovers police involvement. drug trafficking; it is the economy, entertainment. I After receiving a warning In both Corchado’s life story of the spell cast over this would try to help bridge my that he could be dead within and reporting, the entangled persistent journalist who is two countries. But we had all 24 hours, Corchado dwells and tense relationship obsessed with investigating, unwittingly become crime on his own past and those of between his homeland and

74 ReVista SPRING 2013 his adopted country is always that” and on and on. He once Corchado is aware, though, of immigration authorities, a a co-dependent one of love had to escape hidden in the that his U.S. citizenship does fellow countryman, a pocho, and hate for many histori- trunk of a car after he and his not provide blanket protec- a Mexican-American who cal reasons: among them, girlfriend Angela Kocherga, tion. The threats lead him to belongs to two countries. since the beginning of the also a reporter, obtained a film face himself and at several The critical look—both an last century, the U.S. need for showing hitmen questioning points, he questions the life outside gaze and a closeup cheap farm labor, a fact that a man about to be executed. he has chosen and that which look—at a Mexico that doesn’t benefited the Corchado family. Another time, in a Texas bar, he could have led. If he is quite manage to get on track is In World War II, the United he received a warning from endangering his own fam- moving and at the same time States also needed to provide a stranger that he shouldn’t ily, his loved ones, even his uncomfortable. We hear these morphine to its soldiers and snoop around in a place where sources, he begins to feel toxic. voices, like that of his mother even militarily protected the drug cartel Zetas could cut He begins to distrust those who “In her mind, [knew] life Mexico’s poppy fields, which off his head. around him. Just to know that in Mexico was over. Some- had a boomerang effect after “You have stopped being a he is on a hit list makes him thing was wrong—había un the prohibition on drugs went reporter. You are part of the feel sad and isolated. But at mal—in Mexico. Mal, maldi- into effect with repressive story now. You are so close the same time, he feels that ción, a damning.” military operations carried now that you can’t even distin- he cannot stop reporting on “Mexico needs time,” her out to enforce it—which only guish the lines, and it’s putting Mexico because, for him, it is brother would tell Corchado’s resulted in the expansion of you and everyone close to you more than just covering the mother. She’d respond that drug cartels to other places. in danger,” Kocherga once news; it is personal. the country would empty out Corchado—honest, brave complained, worried about his “All I know is that I need if things didn’t change, as she and sometimes reckless—puts destiny and his stubbornness to find out what’s going on. I watched other neighbors head his cards on the table. He tells in refusing to leave Mexico. need to be sure. Otherwise I north. us about his fears, feelings, The book is also a fasci- will always wonder whether Juárez, the city that gave them stability and granted their dreams when the family invested their savings in the As a son of the border, Alfredo Corchado instinctively sees the successful “Freddy’s” café two worlds of Mexico and the United States at the same time. across the border in El Paso embodies this contradiction. The promised land for thou- doubts, motives and attach- nating lesson in journalism. everything I grew up believing sands of workers, a pioneer ments, as well as quite a bit Corchado leads us through the is a fucking lie,” he says when in the struggle for democracy, about his journalistic tricks process of finding informa- asked why he persists. an experiment in the Free and sources. tion, verifying it, document- As a Mexican, I am some- Trade Agreement between “I’d told him [a friend] ing it, developing sources times amazed and sometimes two countries, it also was one how covering narcos hadn’t and getting interviews. He appalled to listen to the U.S. of the first communities to become an obsession, but a shows us how he reports on versions of what is happening face the difficulties of moving necessity,” he explains in a this underworld where drug in my country, and to contrast between two parallel gov- chapter in which he questions traffickers, money launderers, those statements with the ernments, the legal and the his addiction to covering the spies, protected witnesses and facts that Corchado provides. illegal. Now his Ciudad Juárez most difficult stories. infiltrated agents all operate Another of the book’s sub- is a war zone where so many When this Durango native clandestinely. And everyone is plots demonstrates how per- are killed that the morgue discovers information about double-dealing. meable the border is, allowing runs out of space. Mafia-style pacts among drug As a Mexican journalist, people, merchandise, drugs, With his gaze trained to see traffickers or corrupt politi- I’m struck by the immunity arms and drug traffickers to these two worlds, Corchado cians or police who make up that a U.S. passport grants easily pass from one side to narrates intimate episodes of the armed forces for drug car- foreign journalists. It’s almost the other. Midnight in Mexico the help the United States gave tels, he keeps on asking until totally opposite to the situation is much more than a mere Presidente Felipe Calderón to the replies he receives could of Mexican journalists, where logbook by a reporter forced wage his war on drug traffick- be taken as threats: “Don’t no one cares if we receive by circumstances to cover ers, his meeting with President make problems for yourself,” threats and no one is about to drug trafficking; it is also the Bush, agreements between the “Be careful,” “Better to forget dash to the rescue either. history of a migrant fearful ambassadors of Mexico and

DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 75 BOOK TALK

the United States, petitions for arms and aid, and of the Mythical Beasts of the Colombian conditions imposed on this aid, as well as the guar- Violence: Leviathan and the Billy Goat anteed protection offered to Calderón in exchange A REVIEW BY PAOLO VIGNOLO for his stance on drugs, a protection which appears continues to this day. But the symbiotic Violencia pública en phy to focus on case studies relationship between the Colombia. and local situations, Palacios United States and Mexico is By Marco Palacios. still dares to present a wide- not limited to drug politics. (Bogotá, Fondo de Cultura ranging narrative of what has Corchado, with longing for Económica, 2012, 218 pp.) transpired in Colombia during his homeland, recreates the past six decades. an atmosphere that blends Another book about violence A powerful metaphor music, sounds, tastes, tacos, in Colombia? At first glance, it recurs throughout the book, the songs of Juan Gabriel, would seem superfluous to add like Ariadne’s thread that the shots of tequila, the one more title to the already permits readers to orient landscapes and the facts extensive bibliography that themselves in the labyrinth of of history that forged the spans the “violentology” dating the Colombian conflict: that identity of the author. from the 1960s and 1980s up of the “imaginary Leviathan.” brought from Africa, whom Midnight in Mexico to an endless number of recent Palacios writes, “The mon- they have subjugated cultur- becomes a journey in studies on the armed conflict. ster that Colombians face is ally and politically, basing search of hopeful change Moreover, Colombia moved not Thomas Hobbes’ Levia- their domination on a fictional that never arrives. It is a abruptly from the denial of than, which requires that all theory of state and a faraway song of nostalgia for the the existence of a low-inten- be equal before it, but an king” (p. 38). democracy for which many sity conflict during the Uribe imaginary Leviathan, precisely Since then, Colombian struggled. As the author government to a rhetoric of because this environment of public violence has fed on writes, “This book, Mid- post-conflict under the Santos equality does not exist nor has the struggles between these night in Mexico, is about administration: until just a ever existed in Colombia.” two mythical monsters: an searching for a flickering few months ago the conflict What is at stake is the imported Leviathan and a light during the darkest seemed to have left the public question of the legitimacy of creole Billy Goat. “The central night and believing in the agenda. the Colombian state and its point of reference,” continues promise of a new day.” However, this is precisely corollaries, control of terri- Palacios, “is the national state why this book by Marco Pala- tory and monopoly of the use as seen in a double tension: Marcela Turati is a cios is important—even neces- of force. If from the begin- first, that of theraison d’etat Mexican reporter for sary. Conceived as an “inter- ning of the Republic the ‘reason of state,’ baroque and Proceso magazine. Turati, pretive synthesis in historical dominant classes adopted the colonial in nature, and that who received the Harvard perspective,” it places the Anglo-Saxon political myth of rule of law, the function- Nieman Foundation’s unresolved knots of Colom- of Leviathan as their own, ing of which is prefigured in 2013 Louis M. Lyons bia’s past at the center of the their practices have reflected 1819-1821; second, [the tense] Award for Conscience and debate: concentration of land more those of The Billy Goat. functioning of the Colombian Integrity is the author of ownership in large estates, In that work, Juan Rodrí- state (1958-2010), with its fla- the book Fuego Cruzado: continuities between colonial- guez Freile, a Bogotá writer grant deficit of legitimacy and las victimas atrapadas en la era contraband and contempo- contemporary with Hobbes, sovereignty throughout the guerra del narco (“Cross- rary illegal trafficking, issues of “relates archetypical situations national territory and in the fire: Victims Trapped in domestic agricultural coloni- of a conquered society already international system” (p. 21). the Narco-War”.) She is also zation and the persistence of in the process of colonization. In this fashion, Palacios co-founder of Periodistas de clientelism in the nodes of the A society forged by parasites moves beyond the intermi- a Pie, a network dedicated power network. who make their living from nable debates about a weak to training and protecting In contrast to the tendency the exploitation of indig- state—failed or the verge of Mexican journalists. of present-day historiogra- enous people and black slaves collapsing. The comparison

76 ReVista SPRING 2013 of the Billy Goat with the ance of the post 9/11 “war on economic as well as the politi- tary formations, state security Leviathan gives a literary- terror.” The fictitious Levia- cal realm, marking the victory forces, drug cartels, criminal philosophical platform to his than of domestic policy is thus of the Billy Goat state over the gangs, political cliques) that theory about “three coun- inserted into the hemispheric Leviathan one. come and go from the scene in tries”: 1) “islands of legiti- hegemony of the United Deep knowledge of the a dizzy succession of trau- macy” in the metropolitan States, “Leviathan of the material and lucid, sharp- matic events, it is not always areas, where two-thirds of the unsheathed sword” (p. 191). edged prose help Palacios to possible to find a balanced population live today under Although the pages devot- examine the motives and logic narrative. The space dedi- the protection of Leviathan; 2) ed to a comparison between of each of the actors, tearing cated to M-19, for example, scarcely populated colonized Colombia and Mexico are but to pieces all the rhetoric con- compared to other guerrilla zones where the agricultural echoes of previous works by structed along the dichotomy formations, does not take into countryside frontier contin- the author, the strength of of heroes and villains. The account the decisive influence ues to exist under the control the book is undoubtedly the chapter dedicated to the that this movement had on of the illegal armed actors, global extension of his narra- viewpoint of the guerillas, for Colombian society, despite its equivalent to the Hobbesian tive, based on rigorous treat- example, is a relentless bal- relative political weakness. In state of nature; and 3) the ment of the empirical material ance of the historical failure the same way, implicit pacts rest of Colombia, “a country at his disposition. of revolutionary projects in between the military brass in the middle,” made up of Another thesis already Colombia. There we find the and the oligarchy perhaps small municipalities caught developed in Palacios’ previ- origins of the contradictions deserve a more explicit analy- between forced urbanization ous works also reappears: in which the FARC guerrillas sis. These are mere details in and negotiation with actors Colombia is practically find themselves tangled today, the face of the eloquence of outside the law: the kingdom unique among Latin Ameri- with their Marxist-Leninist a text a little more than 200 of the Billy Goat. can countries because it has project ending up in bed with pages long that manages to The crux of the book not experienced populism, both the ruthless capitalism of present the main pieces of the involves the dynamics of the whether leftist or right-wing. drug trafficking and the clas- Colombian puzzle, articulat- armed confrontation between The movements that could be sist agrarian establishment. ing them in an intelligent and the dominant classes and their described as populist—such as At the same time, he also all-embracing overview. allies, on the one hand, and those voiced by Jorge Elicier deeply questions the role Maintaining an aca- the guerrilla elite on the other. Gaitan and even Álvaro Uribe, played by the armed forces, demic tone, the author takes Instead of thinking about as well as certain drug traffick- from their multiple connec- seriously the challenge of the state and social aspects ers—have given in to internal tions with paramilitarism providing documented alter- of the nation and the world contradictions or repression/ to the chilling practice of natives to the wave of media as dichotomies, but rather as cooptation of its members. assassinating peasants in narratives that are rewriting organic and continuous, Pala- The “oligarchical republic” cold blood, only to present the country’s recent history: cios manages to systematically never let go of the reins of them later as guerrillas killed television series such as “Pablo connect domestic events with power based on a liberal rep- in combat. This practice has Escobar el Patrón del Mal,” international geopolitics. resentative model oiled by a been documented since 1950 fictionalized biographies of The ups and downs on the capillary system of favors and and today is known by the drug lords and former kidnap battlefronts related to the dif- privileges, in which legalistic- euphemism of “false positives.” victims, movies about military ficult Colombian geography, civic traditions coexist with But his most polemic and operations. Marco Palacios for example, are analyzed in the systematic use of political forceful arguments emerge at offers an unspecialized audi- terms of changes in the traf- assassination and arbitrary the margin of his central argu- ence a comprehensive vision ficking routes of arms, drugs confiscation of property. ment: for example, the term of the Colombian armed and other contraband that Because of this, direct election pax uribista (Uribe’s peace), conflict, in an attempt similar connect the country with the of mayors has become a knot whose striking definition we to (although in a different United States and Europe. in the war: the armed control find relegated to a footnote: medium) to Violentología, Likewise, the statistical of the electoral machinery in “We understand here by ‘pax Stephen Ferry’s photographic study of official police reports the regions has managed to uribista’ the combination opus with texts by Gonzalo reveals a new terminology prevail over the fleeting emer- of the Policy of Democratic Sánchez (reviewed in the Win- starting in 2002: “narco- gence of charismatic leaders. Security with the practices of ter 2013 issue of ReVista by terrorists,” incomprehensible An expanding clientelistic sys- parapolitics” (p. 62). Boris Muñoz). if one does not associate the tem has replaced the absence Among the plethora of The last chapter examines term with the global appear- of a populist program, in the actors (guerrillas, paramili- each peace process individu-

DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 77 MAKING A DIFFERENCE

ally, from the first conversations with the guerrillas in 1982 to the negotiations with the paramilitaries between 2003 and 2006, stressing that the cycle of violence-elections- violence generates windows for dialogue that are no longer than four years, the duration of a presidential term. Rather than formulate policies to recover national sovereignty, legitimacy and the monopoly over force—the Leviathan model—“presidents openly used dialogues to relegitimize the political system, expand their own electoral bases and to provide more opportunities for clientelism” (p. 141), as in the Billy Goat model. Although the epilogue does not provide specific solutions, it does generate expectations about what will be the next attempt to achieve peace. A few months after the book’s publication, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Hasta Luego, Not Goodbye negotiations with the FARC, now underway. Hopefully, this BY ISABEL H. EVANS book will allow us to sort out the mythic monsters of the Leviathan and the Billy Goat to arrive finally at a dignified WHEN I FIRST EXCITEDLY TOLD is, at best, unnecessary and, agement, I feared perhaps rule of law worthy of the name. Harvard friends and class- at worst, a waste. my choice to go to Argentina mates that I would be study- Harvard’s Office of Inter- might be a bad one. I said a Paolo Vignolo, PhD in His- ing abroad in Buenos Aires national Education website gloomy, “Hasta luego” to all. tory and Civilization at the during my fall 2012 semes- offers statistics that reflect However, now that I have E.H.E.E.S of Paris, is Associ- ter, I did not quite get the this overall aversion. The completed my fall semester ate Professor at the Center of upbeat “bon voyage!” I was most recent numbers, from in Buenos Aires and am back Social Studies of the National expecting. Reactions were the 2010-2011 school year, on campus, I am convinced University, Bogotá. Member of mostly negative. They ranged show that only 141 out of that more Harvard students the board of the Hemispheric from: “How could you ever Harvard’s roughly 6,400 need to study internation- Institute of Performance think to leave Harvard for students went abroad dur- ally, especially during term and Politics of the New York a semester?” to “You can do ing the year. More do ven- time. The negative reaction University, he works with that during the summer,” and ture forth in summer, but the and culture that surrounds the Cultural Agents Initia- finally the brutal, “The only total of students engaging studying abroad at Harvard tive at Harvard, where he people that go abroad during in international experiences is close-minded and shallow. was a 2012-13 Julio M. Santo the year hate school or have is still strikingly low. Even Harvard students tend to get Domingo Visiting Scholar at no friends.” Almost every stu- including summer, only 598 so obsessed with the Harvard the David Rockefeller Center dent seemed to think study- students had an experience world that they begin to have for Latin American Studies. ing abroad during term time abroad. With this discour- no interest in exploring the

78 ReVista SPRING 2013 PHOTOS BY AUDREY DEL ROSARIO (LEFT) AND ALEX FREEMAN, (RIGHT) MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Left: Izzy Evans in a Paraguayan market with Meg Pierce; Right: A student group poses in Quilombo, Brazil. Izzy Evans is in front row, second on the left.

outside one. For such an inter- beliefs during Operation Con- the school year is the only more of us should still be tak- national and diverse school, it dor. Listening to an old pris- way to combat the epidemic ing the chance to do some- seems wrong that so few of us oner and touring the grounds of FOMO (“fear of missing thing off the beaten path. Back stray outside our comfort zones. where countless people had out”) that plagues this cam- at school now, I feel I have a Of course, my time abroad suffered taught me much pus. Many students I talked very necessary perspective. I was not perfect, and there were more about the importance of to stressed that they were think less about all of my little moments when I yearned for democracy and freedom than afraid to go abroad. They Harvard complaints (Lamont the sound of the Lowell bells any Gen Ed ever could. were nervous they would miss café sandwiches, for example) instead of the incessant reggae- Living in a completely dif- something gigantic or would and instead am excited to ton blasting from the streets ferent culture and having no be forgotten because of their embrace all the opportunities outside my window. But my choice but to speak Span- absence. This is an irrational that our school offers. experience taught me so many ish was both challenging and obstacle. Leaving for a semes- things in just a few months that stimulating. I became stronger ter does not mean leaving for- Isabel “Izzy” Evans is a I never would have learned in because of the difficult days ever. We do not have to be at junior at Harvard living in the classroom. Seeing thou- when I could not communi- every event, go to every party, Adams House. She is an Eng- sands of Argentines banging cate with my host family no or be in every Harvard-Yale lish concentrator pursuing the pots and pans on the streets in matter how hard I tried. When Instagram photo. honors track. For her fall 2012 opposition to President Cris- our conversations did flow Going away is perhaps not semester, she studied abroad tina Kirchner showed me a easily, I became aware of poli- for everyone. You may have a in Buenos Aires with the SIT: protest movement very differ- tics and problems I had never job or too many requirements Southern Cone program. ent from Occupy Wall Street. known about before. By living or you may have taken a gap On a trip to Paraguay with my there for a few months, rather year and thought that was A longer version appeared in the program, we visited a torture than a few weeks, I became enough. Or you just don’t like Harvard Crimson on January 24, 2013 chamber created by dictator deeply immersed and came to to travel, which is perfectly For information about DRCLAS Study Alfredo Stroessner to hold any- consider the city a home. understandable with the state Abroad Programs, see http://www. one suspected of communist Studying abroad during of airplane food today. But drclas.harvard.edu/students

DRCLAS.HARVARD.EDU/PUBLICATIONS/REVISTAONLINE ReVista 79

THE LAST WORD BY NOEL MAURER

The Canal and Beyond

On May 3, 2009, pro-business supermarket magnate and New York Yankees fan Ricardo Martinelli defeated equally pro-business former housing minister Balbina Herrera for President of Panamá by 22 points. Clearly, the majority of Panamanians thought that the proper business of Panamá was business. And in 2009, as today, business in Panamá centered on the Panama Canal. The contemporary importance of the Panama Canal to world trade and Panamanian economic development is impossible to dispute. Panamá’s unique geographical location and historical position show how various economic and political themes replay themselves over and over through time. U.S. “exploitation” occurred in two steps in 1903-04: first when the United States strong-armed a better agreement than it could have obtained through voluntary negotiations, and then when it effectively separated the Canal Zone from the Panamanian economy. Active intervention in Panamanian politics soon faded, perhaps for the best, given America’s inability to keep its own peculiar racial attitudes out of its foreign policy. Passive acquiescence in Panamanian authoritarianism became the norm. The canal itself, however, would not be handed over until 1999, and the Neutrality Treaty provided the United States with a pretext to call off the handover should anything go seriously wrong. U.S. opponents of the handover doubted Panamanian ability to manage the canal for there was little in mid-century Panamá to reassure outsiders. Corruption ran rampant; parties existed essentially as patronage devices. Ultimately, the United States did intervene by removing Manuel Noriega by force. Noriega had been useful for Washington’s foreign policy; this led him to miscalculate his worth to the United States. Noriega very well might have survived had he not made it clear that he intended to use the Panama Canal for political purposes. The 1989 U.S. invasion could by itself no more create democracy in Panamá than had interventions in 1904, 1912, 1918, 1921, and 1925. Fortunately, a critical mass of the Panamanian electorate no longer felt obliged to follow traditional politics. Noriega transformed Panamá in spite of himself, breaking traditional patronage networks in order to advance his own personal power. In the process, a broad-based coalition of Panamanians mobilized against the dictator. After 1989, democratic candidates needed to gain the support of a suspicious electorate not obliged to any party machine. A large bloc of swing voters emerged, enabling the creation of a democracy in which a winning coalition could not simply rely on transferring wealth from the losers. The regime change of 1989 succeeded because there were already enough Panamanians convinced that electoral democracy was in their best interest. In 2006 Panamanians evinced enough faith in their government to vote overwhelmingly in favor of expanding the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is now better managed than ever before. Simultaneously, Panamá is more strongly positioned to capitalize on the canal than ever before. While Panamá still suffers from a relatively high level of corruption, the nation is better educated and more democratically governed than at any other time. Pana- manians have reasons for optimism going ahead. The continuing growth of the Chinese economy stimulated a wave of new eastbound exports through the canal, from Brazilian soya to (astonishingly) U.S. coal. U.S. imperialism was not particularly successful in terms of benefitting Panamanians. The modern, negotiated “empire by invitation” that re-placed the old system after 1989 appears to have been far more successful than the older version ever was. Rather than act as an imperial power, the United States now implicitly guarantees Panamanian security through the Neutrality Treaty and economic prosperity through the dollar and the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement. In return, Panamá adheres to the norms of democratic rule and professional management of the canal, which also happen to be in the country’s own best interest. In all likelihood, the new relationship between Panamá and the United States, centered as ever around the Panama Canal, will be healthier and more stable for both nations in the decades ahead.

Noel Maurer, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, is the author of The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal, co-authored with Carlos Yu. NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 1636 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 02138

CONTRIBUTORS

6 Alberto Alemán Zubieta, a professional engineer, was CEO of the Fronteras Desk, an NPR initiative examining the US-Mexico border.

Panama Canal between 1996 and 2012. 37 Ebrahim Asvat, a lawyer 46 Ramón A. Mon is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. who received a Master’s in Law from Harvard Law School, was presi- 66 Darién Montañez is the Coordinator of Exhibit Production for the dent of the newspapers La Estrella de Panamá and El Siglo from 2001- Biomuseo. 20 Jorge Ritter is a Panamanian lawyer, writer, columnist

2011. 69 Raisa G. Banfield, an architect and an environmental activist, and lecturer. 72 Larry Rohter, the author of Brazil on the Rise, covers hosts a weekly television show Cuidando El Planeta 3 (Taking Care of culture for the New York Times. 62 Ira Rubinoff, Harvard Ph.D. 1964, the Planet 3). 53 Angeles Ramos Baquero is the Executive Director is Director Emeritus and Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical and Chief Curator of the Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panamá. Research Institute, which he directed from 1974 until 2008.

2 Fernando Berguido was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. 50 Adrienne Samos is an independent editor, curator, and art critic

He is a former publisher and editor of the Panamanian daily La Prensa. based in Panama City. 74 Marcela Turati, a Mexican reporter for

22 Don Bohning is the former foreign editor of the Miami Herald and a Proceso magazine, is the winner of the Nieman Foundation’s 2013 Louis longtime reporter in Latin America. 58 Berna Burrell is a Panamanian Lyons Award 38 Arysteides Turpana is a Panamanian professor, writer novelist and literary critic. 34 Maria Mercedes de Corró, author of and poet of Guna origin. 69 Lina Vega Abad, a lawyer and journal-

Hasta la última gota: Gabriel Lewis Galindo, has worked for La Prensa ist, has worked at La Prensa since 1999. 76 Paolo Vignolo, a 2012-13 since 1995. 9 I. Roberto Eisenmann, a 1986 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, DRCLAS Visiting Scholar, is Associate Professor of Social Studies at the is the founder of La Prensa. 79 Isabel “Izzy” Evans is a junior at Har- Universidad Nacional in Bogotá. vard living in Adams House. 40 James Howe is emeritus Professor of

Anthropology at MIT and author of several books on Guna culture and FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHY: Special thanks to Ricardo Bermúdez and history. 81 Noel Maurer is an Associate Professor at Harvard Business La Prensa of Panamá for use of their archives and to Lorne Matalon and

School. 24 Lorne Matalon is a journalist who contributes to the James Howe for their photoessays.