TheExpatJournals.com

Well, part of me is hesitant to write about Portobelo because I’d like it to remain the irrelevant that it seems to be. Portobelo. I loved it! If there were internet, I’d move!
The Diablos y Congos festival was fascinating. Rather than write too much about any of it, when the next issue of The Panama News comes out, I think Eric will be a few of the photos I took. I took over 300 pictures this past weekend.  It may well have changed me forever.  I was absolutely lost while shooting away…lost in what I was experiencing, free of any inhibitions and consumed moment by moment with what I was privileged enough to witness.  I wondered if this is how musician’s feel on stage when suddenly, all ego flees and you are merely left with something approaching a spiritual experience that comes through you and transports you to somewhere outside yourself.

I have made a wonderful friend in Panama named Jaime who has helped me explore Panama in a way I know I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do. He knows it so well and loves it so much. And his company is just the best! We frequently take jaunts together and this weekend, we stayed with a friend of his who was the most delightful bundle of energy.

There’s an area in Portobelo called Half Moon Valley where, I supose, in theory the Virgin Mary has appeared. Our host was explaining how the light over there will play tricks on you. On Saturday morning, I walked out of the shower thrilled with what I had just witnessed. Maybe it could happen anywhere, but it was my first. The beads of water that splashed off my body were like little multi-colored balls. Using the hand held showerhead, I could create arcs and various patterns of color from the water splashing off me. It was incredible!

The festival itself I can’t say I learned enough about. But I sure had fun experiencing the fun they were all having. I kept taking pictures and somehow, a camera in my hand will send me places I would never consider going. And during this festival, it seemed like everyone wanted me to take their picture. The place was SOOOOOOOOOO packed. Another friend with us pulled me ‘backstage’. And that’s where the real party was…as usual. There was a group of folks, men mostly dressed in the white devil costume and women in bright skirts with flowers in their head. Their public role seemed to be the women who were terrorized by the devils. But backstage, it was congos, impulsive dancing, chanting…I won’t call it singing and it wasn’t Spanish so I assume of African descent, and what I can only decribe as fallin’ out. Like they do in some extreme religions only instead of talking in tongues or something, this guy was truly dancing like no one was watching. He seemed possessed, even the look in his eyes. I sat at his feet most of the time. Got one shot that sort of shows his eyes. I felt privileged to be a witness.

As we left the festival, cars were at a stand still in both directions. For a very long ways. Again, I whipped out my camera to get a shot of the parking lot that used to be a road and instantly, folks sitting in the cars wanted their picture taken…not all, but some. I have this one shot…I’ll post it in the photos section actually…of this young person. And honestly, I can’t tell if it was a girl or a boy and I don’t remember. In any event, they were beaming and thrilled to have their photo taken. And they were in the backseat of a car about 1/2 a mile away from getting into Portobelo much less finding parking. And it really hit me when I saw the look coming from that young person’s eyes…she (he?) was radiant, exuding happiness. And I wondered if ANY American in the same un-air-conditioned car waiting endlessly in that kind of traffic could possibly have the same expression?

As I write this, school buses are passing through the neighborhood with good brass bands onboard playing. It’s downright cool! Almost feel like it’s a touch New Orleans funeral. Without the blues element, of course. In Panama, it seems to always be party time!