You might be familiar with Mardis Gras parades in New Orleans, Louisiana, or have heard about the celebrations in Venice, Italy, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Panama’s carnavales celebrations are unique and represent the country’s diverse history and culture.
I had the opportunity to participate in Panama City’s carnavales, which involved concerts, parades and celebrations over four days. Most people in Panama City leave for the campo, or countryside, to celebrate carnavales with their families, so the city felt surprisingly empty.
Carnavales also coincided with El Año Nuevo Chino, or Chinese New Year. There are around 200,000 ethnically Chinese people in Panama, the largest population in Central America. In the 1800s, many Chinese workers immigrated to Panama to help build the Trans-Panama Railroad, which transported goods across the country before the Panama Canal was built. Nowadays, there is a vibrant Barrio Chino (Chinatown) here.
