Page 169 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

The road To Las TabLas The Azuero PeninsulA 167
Ironically its most striking exhibit is the Napoleonic-size tomb intended to house
Porras’s remains, which lies empty as family members wrangle over whether the bones
should be moved from the prestigious Cementerio Amador in Panama City, where they
are currently interred. Walls in the single display room are plastered with faded photos,
certificates and memorabilia, which only partly succeed in conveying (in Spanish) the
extent of his many achievements (see p.295 & p.298). On one famous occasion the
statesman’s bust, which stands outside the museum, was stolen and discarded in a
latrine. On hearing the news, Porras wryly remarked: “Mis enemigos, no pudiendo llegar
hasta mí, mi han hecho descender hasta ellos” (“Since my enemies cannot reach me, they
have dragged me down to their level”).

ArriVAl AnD inForMATion lAs TABlAs
By bus Buses from Panama City arrive at the main 20min); Tonosí (8am, 10am, then hourly until 5pm; 1hr
terminal, four blocks north of Parque Porras down Av 8 de 20min).
Noviembre. All the other main bus stops are within a few MIA office The regional MIA office for Los Santos province
blocks of the main square. lies along the main road to Pedasí, around 1.7km east of
Destinations Cañas via Pedasí (1 daily, 1.30–2pm; 2hr); Parque Porras (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; T500 0921). Stop
Chitré (6am–9pm; every 20min; 45min); Panama City here if you intend to visit Isla Iguana, Isla de Cañas or Cerro
(6am–7pm; hourly; 4hr); Pedasí (6.30am–7.30pm; every Hoya from the Los Santos side.
45min; 40min); Playa El Uverito (7am–5pm; 6–7 daily;

CARNAVAL AND OTHER LAS TABLAS FESTIVALS
For many people Las Tablas is synonymous with Carnaval, the nation’s wildest party, which 4
sees an estimated eighty thousand people squeeze into the narrow streets and central plaza
for the five-day bacchanal. Though scaffolding is erected and bodies cram every window and
balcony ledge, it is still a crush, so it’s not for the claustrophobic or faint-hearted. The festivities
revolve around a Montagues-versus-Capulets-style feud that divides the town down the
middle in their loyal support for either Calle Arriba (Wcarnavalescallearriba.com) or Calle
Abajo (Wcalleabajolastablas.com), during which water pistols are substituted for swords and
the calles shell out at least $500,000 each year to compete for the best music, supporters,
fireworks, costumes, floats and queen.
The proceedings start on the Friday night in a blaze of fireworks with the coronation of the
new queens, followed by dancing until dawn in a swirl of seco and sweat. Mornings kick-start
around 10am with culecos or mojaderos, which essentially entail being doused by hosepipes
from large water tankers as you dance in the street. The queens parade around the square
enthroned on gigantic themed floats followed by percussion and brass murga bands, who work
themselves up into a frenzy to inspire the tunas – the all-singing all-dancing support groups –
to pump up the volume and outdo the opponents with insulting lyrics. The glam factor is
ratcheted up a few notches at night, both on the streets and on the even more extravagant and
glitzy floats, and general hedonism takes off until people flake out, often in cars or in the park,
before starting all over again the next day. The good times are formally ended when a sardine is
symbolically buried in the sand at dawn on ash Wednesday to mark the start of Lent.
OTHER FESTIVALS
The Festival de Santa Librada is commemorated annually in the third week of July. This
event is less frenetic and a shade less hedonistic than Carnaval, though there is no shortage
of boozing and carousing, plus all the usual attractions of traditional costumes, dancing and
music, street food, bullfighting, fireworks and, of course, religious devotions. These start as the
pilgrims file into town, bearing an effigy of the saint, who is dripping in gold jewellery given by
devotees. For tourists the most interesting aspect is the Festival de la Pollera, which offers a
chance to see streams of women in Panama’s glorious national dress sashaying through the
streets. a more recently established dusting off of the polleras occurs at the end of the second
week of January in the Festival de las Mil Polleras. Thousands of women from all over the
country converge on Las Tablas to show off regional variations of the national dress,
accompanied by tuna bands.

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