photo by gusto

Even before the construction of its famous canal, Panamá’s strategic location at the wasp waist of the Americas and at the meeting place of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans made it one of the great crossroads of the world. A narrow, S-shaped isthmus that stretches some 750km between Costa Rica and Colombia, Panamá remains a vital thoroughfare of international commerce, but is rarely visited by travellers. In part this is because the land bridge to South America, the Darién Gap, remains virtually impassable; in part because the use of the US dollar and the relatively high level of economic development make it a more expensive country to visit than other places in the region. But above all it seems that Panamá suffers from a serious image problem. Although the last US troops have now left Panamá and the canal is in Panamanian hands, to most outsiders the country remains a virtual colony of the US, artificially created in order to facilitate construction of the canal, while its culture is seen as a desperately compromised imitation of North America: urbanized, anglicized and Coca-colonized. Yet while it is true that no other country in Central America has been so dominated by the US – Panamá owes its very existence to US intervention – in fact the North American cultural influence, though strong, is but one among many. Spanish, African, West Indian, Chinese, Indian, European – all have contributed to a compelling cultural mix, creating perhaps the most cosmopolitan, open-minded and outward-looking society in Central America. At the same time, it is also home to some of the most unassimilated and culturally fascinating indigenous societies in Central America – within 30km of the high-rise banking district of Panamá City, for example, the indigenous Emberá still practise subsistence agriculture in the rainforest and hunt for their supper with blowpipes.