Panamanian Festivals
Festival de la Mejorana
The National Folkloric Festival of la Mejorana in Guararé, Panama, promotes traditional folklore and protects Panamanian customs. The festival derives its name from the "mejoranera," a type of small Spanish guitar that has only four strings. The mejoranera is used widely in the music, singing, and dancing of the province. Each year, in the month of September, mejoraneros (mejoranera players), drummers, singers, dancers, artisans, and folkloric groups come together to celebrate in this four-day affair. The festival coincides with the celebration of the patron saint festivities called "Virgen de Las Mercedes." Guarareños (the people of Guararé) enjoy musical performances, bull fights, popular dances, and a spectacular parade of floats.
The parade of a thousand polleras
This event takes place in the city of Las Tablas, the capital of the Los Santos province. During the parade, thousands of Panamanian women attired in polleras, Panama's national costume for women, walk through the streets to display their national pride. Displaying their colorful dressware, each group of women marches along to musical rhythms, seeming to form a parade of 1,000 females of different ages. The polleras they wear are exquisite, 16th century-style colonial dresses that have been adapted to Panama's culture, and express African elements. Polleras are referred to as one of the most beautiful and expensive dresses in the world. They are almost always handmade, featuring ornate stitching and designs. The parade not only honors the pollera, but also the rest of the country's main ethnic groups and their regional costumes.
Works Cited:
http://visitpanama.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=&id=&Itemid=466&lang=en
http://panamabusinessandtravel.com/One-Thousand-Pollera-Parade.php
http://panamabusinessandtravel.com/Mejorana-Festival-in-Panama.php
http://guarare.com/
http://centroysur.com/2011/11/28/parade-of-a-thousand-polleras-panama/
http://visitpanama.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=&id=&Itemid=466&lang=en
http://panamabusinessandtravel.com/One-Thousand-Pollera-Parade.php
http://panamabusinessandtravel.com/Mejorana-Festival-in-Panama.php
http://guarare.com/
http://centroysur.com/2011/11/28/parade-of-a-thousand-polleras-panama/