Page 63 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

Central Panama City Panama City 61
of Panamá Viejo in 1671 thanks, apparently, to having been painted or covered in mud 1
to disguise its true value. Legend has it that when Morgan demanded to see the gold,
the priest explained its absence by pleading poverty, even persuading the buccaneer to
make a donation to the church.

Plaza Herrera
At the western limit of Casco Viejo is Plaza Herrera, a pleasant square lined with
elegant nineteenth-century houses, named in honour of General Tomás Herrera, the
military leader of Panama’s first short-lived independence attempt in 1840 (see p.295).
His equestrian monument stands in the centre of the plaza. Just off Plaza Herrera to
the west lies Bastión Mano de Tigre (Tiger Hand Bastion), a crumbling and indistinct
pile of masonry that is the last remaining section of the city’s original defensive walls
on the landward side. To the north a gleaming white facade announces the restored
American Trade Hotel (see p.77), which dates back to 1917.
In contrast, tucked away at the western end of the square is a striking wooden
residential building, named La Boyacá after a nineteenth-century gunboat and with a
frontage carved like the prow of a ship. Beyond, the road soon dissolves into the poor
barrio and no-go area of El Chorrillo, which was devastated during the US invasion,
leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless. The neighbourhood has since been
rebuilt, but the coloured concrete tenements that replaced the old wooden slum
housing are already run-down. Despite a substantial increase in police presence,
and investment in leisure facilities, it’s still a dangerous place, day or night.

Parque Santa Ana
Parque Santa Ana, the social hub of the impoverished neighbourhood of Santa Ana,
marks the transition between the old colonial centre of Casco Viejo and the more
commercial modern city. As the centre of activity outside the city walls in the early
nineteenth century, it hosted colourful markets and bullfights; now it offers some respite
from the swirling traffic, and is often populated by many of the locality’s older residents,
discussing the latest news. The pedestrianized section of Avenida Central starts on the
park’s northeastern side, where a row of shoe-shine booths provides another social focus.

Central Panama City

In contrast to the relative calm of the city’s historical centre and ancient remains, the
modern streets of central Panama City reverberate with traffic noise and pavements are
packed with people squeezing in and out of the patchwork of shops, banks, hotels
and restaurants or threading their way through street vendors, hawkers and other
pedestrians. Wedge-shaped central Panama City stretches 3km around the Bahía de
Panamá, from Avenida Central and Plaza Cinco de Mayo – home to the central
government buildings – to Punta Paitilla, encompassing the older residential and
commercial districts of Calidonia and La Exposición, fanning out to include Bella Vista
and the newer, plusher financial districts of Marbella and El Cangrejo.

Avenida Central
The pedestrianized stretch of Avenida Central, from Parque Santa Ana north as far as
Plaza Cinco de Mayo, is one of the city’s oldest and most colourful shopping districts.
Air conditioning and loud music blast out from the huge, predominantly Hindu-owned
superstores that sell cheap clothing, electronics and household goods, while hawkers flog
pirate DVDs and cheap sunglasses, and vendors quench the thirst of shoppers with fruit

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