Page 165 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

The road To Las TabLas The Azuero PeninsulA 163
Azuero, the peninsula’s annual ten-day agricultural jamboree in April. If you arrive
outside party time, though, it’s easy to be disappointed. “Los Santos”, or “La Villa” as
the town is usually called, is much smaller and quieter than neighbouring Chitré, and
not as spruced up or as vibrant as Las Tablas.
You’ll need little more than an hour to check out La Villa’s two main attractions, the
church and museum, both on the central plaza. The plaza is named after the great
Latin American liberator Simón Bolívar, to whom the town’s influential citizens
addressed a letter on November 10, 1821, asking to join his revolutionary movement
against Spain. This unilateral declaration, called the Primer Grito de la Independencia
(First Cry for Independence), started the domino effect that led to national
independence from Spain eighteen days later; it is celebrated annually with the
customary flag-waving parades of marching bands, traditional folk costumes, speeches
and fireworks.
Museo de la Nacionalidad
North side of Parque Simón Bolívar • Tues–Sat 9am–4pm, closed for lunch • $1 • T966 8192
The room in which the townspeople’s famous letter to Simón Bolívar was penned,
complete with original furniture, forms part of the beautifully restored – and
moderately interesting – Museo de la Nacionalidad. Much of the museum, which was
formerly a school and a prison (though not at the same time), overflows with details
(in Spanish) of leading figures in the independence movement.

LA VILLA’S FESTIVAL DE CORPUS CHRISTI 4
by far the most fascinating and famous of La Villa’s celebrations is the Festival de Corpus
Christi, a heady mix of Christian and pagan imagery in an exciting narrative of dance,
drama and dialogue. It features a cast of larger-than-life characters and dancers decked out
in extravagant costumes, interwoven with a series of religious ceremonies. Corpus Christi
became an important tool in spanish colonization across Latin america, as the invaders
attempted to woo the indigenous population to the Christian faith by incorporating elements
of their traditions and rituals into the ecclesiastical ceremonies. Though there is plenty of local
variation, the basic good-versus-evil plot is the same.
The action starts on the saturday before Corpus Christi when church bells at noon bring
hordes of diablicos sucios (dirty devils) rampaging onto the streets. Clad in crimson-and-
black-striped jumpsuits, wearing ferocious devil masks with flame-coloured headdresses
and letting off firecrackers at will, they terrify all and sundry to the beat of drums and
whistles. Fast forward to Wednesday, several Masses later, when at 11.30am on the eve of
Corpus Christi, the diabla or diablesa (though as with all roles, performed by a male) also
races around the town announcing the arrival of her husband, the diablo Mayor, who
convenes with three other devils in the central plaza. Joking and knocking back the booze,
they carve up the globe in a bid for world domination. before dawn on Corpus Christi,
santeños roam around town, on foot and on horseback, in search of the Torito santeño – a
man in a bull’s costume – who is causing havoc, but is eventually rounded up in the Danza
del Torito as the party proceeds through the streets to a large communal breakfast. The
centrepiece of the drama unfolds mid-morning before the church, on a magnificent carpet
of petals, as the archangel Michael and the diablicos limpios (clean devils), distinguishable
from the bad guys by their white sleeves and a rainbow of handkerchiefs attached to the
waist, vanquish the villains in the danza del Gran diablo or diablicos Limpios before
allowing them in to the service. all the dance troupes – including an assortment of dwarves,
roosters, vultures, Mexican conquistadors and escaped african slaves – attend the Mass,
which then relocates outside as holy Communion is offered to the townsfolk before the
serious partying begins.
Further merrymaking takes place a week later, culminating in saturday’s Día del Turismo,
which provides a highlights show on stage in the plaza, and sunday’s Día de la Mujer,
offering santeñas, whom tradition has prohibited from participating thus far, the chance to
dust off their polleras and join in the fun.

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