Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE FESTIVALS OF PORTOBELO
Two very different
festivals
bring this otherwise lethargic town to life, causing traffic to
grind to a halt well before the first fort, and streets to heave with people, as you find your-
self knee-deep in discarded polystyrene containers, beer cans and chicken bones.
EL FESTIVAL DEL NAZAREÑO
In mid-October, Portobelo bursts into a frenzy of religious fervour and wild partying at
the Festival del Nazareño - more commonly dubbed the
Festival del Cristo Negro
(Black
Christ Festival) after Panama's most revered religious icon, a striking, dark-skinned Christ
with a penetrating gaze and bearing the cross, which resides in the Iglesia de San Felipe.
The effigy's iconic status was cemented in 1821 when it apparently spared the townsfolk
from an epidemic that was sweeping the isthmus.
Though the main
procession
occurs on October 21, the build-up begins days before as
up to forty thousand pilgrims, including general party-goers and a small number of crim-
inals wanting to atone for their crimes, march on town. Thousands walk the 35km from
Sabanitas and a handful hoof it from further afield, some crawling the last stretch on their
hands and knees, a few in ankle-length purple robes, urged on by faithful companions waft-
ing incense, rocking miniature shrines in front of their eyes, or even pouring hot wax on
their backs. To compound the suffering, the pilgrims are frequently overdosing on car-
bon monoxide from the festival traffic, which weaves in and out of the bodies struggling
along the scorching asphalt. Shelters, food stalls and medical posts are set up along the
route while the town itself is jam-packed with makeshift casinos, stalls selling religious
paraphernalia and food outlets dishing out chicken and rice.
At 8pm an ever-changing cohort of robed men begin to parade the icon, bedecked in
a claret robe, round the packed town in a rhythmical swaying, to the accompaniment of
brass and drum, followed by the penitents. Once the candlelit litter has been returned to the
church around midnight, the pilgrims discard their robes at the entrance as an explosion
of fireworks marks the start of a hedonistic feast of drinking, gambling and dancing that
continues through the night. “El Naza”, as the statue is affectionately known by devotees,
gets another celebratory town outing on the Wednesday of Holy Week, this time clothed in
purple, though the festivities are not quite as grand.
CONGOS AND DEVILS
At weekends leading up to Carnaval,
Congo
societies along the Costa Arriba erupt in col-
ourful explosions of traditional song, dance and satirical play-acting that originated in the
sixteenth century among outlawed communities of escaped slaves, known as
cimarrones
.
Congregating in mock palaces - a parody of the Spanish court - each with its king (
Juan de
Dios
) and queen (
Mecé
) togged out in extravagant costumes and ludicrously large crowns,
