Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOS CUCUÁS DE SAN MIGUEL CENTRO
San Miguel Centro, 35km northeast of Penonomé, is home to the
Cucuá
community, who
are famed for their devil dance conducted in elaborate, cream-coloured, pyjama-like cos-
tumes made from cucuá bark, painted with geometric shapes using natural dyes and topped
with a fanciful deer mask complete with real antlers and a peccary's jawbone. As with other
devil dances, it was originally associated with Corpus Christi celebrations; at one time in
danger of dying out it is now regularly performed at folk festivals across Panama and is
the central attraction of the annual
Festival de los Cucuás
, which takes place in March in
San Miguel Centro. The bark “material” used for the costumes is beaten against a tree until
smooth, then washed in soap and hot water before being laid out to dry. Such has been the
demand for the costumes in recent years (they can sell for around $500) that the cucuá tree
has become endangered, prompting a recent reforestation programme.
Descended from the Guaymi, like the Ngäbe and Buglé, and originally from Veraguas, the
Cucuás fled the Spanish colonizers centuries ago to settle in the mountains of Coclé. These
days they live primarily from coffee cultivation and the sale of
artesanías
; the latter, along
with the devil dance, forms a major part of a community-based eco-tourism project aimed
at preserving and promoting Cucuá culture.
ARRIVAL AND ACCOMMODATION
By bus
Chivas
for San Miguel Centro (1hr 30min) leave infrequently from Penonomé bus
terminal.
San Miguel Centro homestays
Simple homestay lodging is offered by the eco-community
project for a modest fee; extra is charged for a performance by the dance troupe. To or-
ganize a visit, ask around the
mercado de artesanías
in Penonomé, where members of the
Cucuá community are often selling their crafts.
Aguadulce and western Coclé
Travelling west along the Interamericana, across the flatlands of Coclé, the terrain becomes
duller and drier as you pass endless fields of sugar cane and cattle and enter the crescent
known as the Arco Seco (Dry Arc), which sweeps round the Bahía de Parita west of the
Pacific beaches to the eastern section of the Azuero Peninsula. Plum in the middle of what
transforms into an unpleasant dust bowl in the dry season stands the important agro-indus-
trial town of
AGUADULCE
, synonymous with sugar, salt and - more recently - shrimps.
Though the town itself is unremarkable, at the right time of year you can observe its agricul-
tural processes first-hand, while avid birdwatchers head for the saltpans of
Playa El Salado
to the southeast. East of Aguadulce lie two of Panama's major historical attractions, the in-
