Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CARNAVAL AND OTHER FESTIVALS
CARNAVAL
For many people Las Tablas is synonymous with
Carnaval
, the nation's wildest party,
which sees an estimated eighty thousand people squeeze into the narrow streets and central
plaza for the five-day Bacchanal. Though scaffolding is erected and bodies cram every
window and balcony ledge, it is still a crush, so it's not for the claustrophobic or faint-
hearted. The festivities revolve around a Montagues-versus-Capulets-style feud renewed
every year that divides the town down the middle in their loyal support for either
Calle
Arriba
(
carnavalescallearriba.com
)
or
Calle Abajo
(
calleabajolastablas.com
)
, during
which swords are substituted for water pistols and the Calles shell out $500,000 each year
to compete for the best music, supporters, fireworks, costumes, floats and queen.
The proceedings start on the Friday night in a blaze of fireworks with the coronation of
the new queens, followed by dancing until dawn in a swirl of seco and sweat. Mornings
kick-start around 10am with
culecos
or
mojaderos
, which essentially entail being doused
by hosepipes from large water tankers as you dance in the street. The queens parade around
the square enthroned on gigantic themed floats followed by percussion and brass
murga
bands, who work themselves up into a frenzy to inspire the
tunas
- the all-singing all-dan-
cing support groups - to pump up the volume and outdo the opponents with insulting lyr-
ics. The glam factor is ratcheted up a few notches at night, both on the streets and on the
even more extravagant and glitzy floats, and general hedonism takes off until people flake
out, often in cars or in the park, before starting all over again the next day. The good times
are formally ended when a sardine is symbolically buried in the sand at dawn on Ash Wed-
nesday to mark the start of Lent.
FESTIVAL DE SANTA LIBRADA
Commemorated annually from July 19 to 22 is the
Festival de Santa Librada
. Though
there is no shortage of boozing and carousing, the event is less frenetic and a shade less
hedonistic than Carnaval, though with all the usual attractions of traditional costumes, dan-
cing and music, street food, bullfighting, fireworks and, of course, the religious devotions.
They start on July 19 as the pilgrims file into town, bearing an effigy of the saint, who is
dripping in gold jewellery given by devotees, but for tourists July 22 is the day to aim for
since it incorporates the
Festival de la Pollera
, offering a chance to see streams of women
decked out in Panama's glorious national dress sashaying through the streets.
FESTIVAL DE MIL POLLERAS
A more recently established dusting off of the
polleras
occurs at the end of the second
week of January in the Festival de Mil Polleras when thousands of women from all over
the country converge on the town to show off their regional variations of the national dress,
accompanied by
tuna
bands.
