Península de Azuero - Panama - page 228

grill. Among the offerings is a traditional specialty of Los Santos Province: tamales made
with corn, pork and various spices, and wrapped in plantain leaves.
From Kiosco El Ciruelo, travel another 6km until you see a bright-blue public phone
on the eastern side of the road. Just beyond the phone is a small hut beside a large pile of
coconut husks. Located here is Casa de la Pipa (House of Coconut Juice), which sells
fresh, ice-cold coconut water.
As you travel the two-lane Carretera Nacional toward Las Tablas, you'll occasionally
see stands with sausages dangling in front of them. Pork sausages made on the Península
de Azuero are nationally famous for their high quality, and a few links of this delicious
meat shouldn't cost you more than a dollar or so.
If you're traveling the highway around Carnaval time, you'll also see dozens of
smashed-up cars on the roadside, sobering remnants of Carnaval placed to encourage
safe driving. Still, it's best to avoid any unnecessary highway travel during Carnaval.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Guararé
POP 3800
Tiny Guararé, located on the Carretera Nacional between Villa de Los Santos and Las
Tablas, is just another sleepy Azuero town until the last week in September, when the
town explodes to life with Feria de la Mejorana , Panama's largest folkloric festival.
Founded by Manuel Zárate in 1950 to stimulate interest and participation in traditional
practices, the Feria de la Mejorana has become the best place to see Panama's folklore in
all its manifestations. Dance groups from all over the country - and even some from oth-
er Latin American countries - attend this annual event, which includes a colorful proces-
sion in which decorated floats parade through the streets in oxcarts.
Folkloric dances that were once part of other celebrations in other places are today
sometimes seen only at this event. For example, this is the only festival in which a dance
known as La Pajarita (Paper Bird) is performed. In contrast to the various exuberant dev-
il dances, a calm, religious quality pervades La Pajarita. Given the great success of La
Mejorana, Guararé is looking to hold folkloric events on a monthly basis; check with loc-
al tourism offices for updates.
A good warm-up for the festivities is a visit to Museo Manuel F Zárate ( 994-5644;
Calle 21 de Enero; adult/child US$0.75/0.25; 9am-4pm Tue-Sat) . Zárate was a folklorist de-
voted to conserving the traditions and folklore of the Azuero region. The museum, in
Zárate's former home, contains polleras, masks, diablito (little devil) costumes and other