Carnival Celebrations In Panama

By Tania LaCaria

A queue of cars a kilometer long could be seen stretching into the distance on the Pan-Am highway. Everyone was heading to Coronado, one of the more popular beach towns in Panamá. Each car housed a driver who was more impatient than the next one that resulted in a symphony of honking horns and booming reggaeton music. The backed-up highway reminded me of Ontario’s long weekends (when the 400-series highways resemble parking lots), except instead of heading to cottage country, everyone in Panama was eager to get to the beach in time for the infamous Carnival celebrations.

I was warned that Carnival in Panamá can get pretty hectic, but I did not expect to see what looked like the entire province’s population congregating in the beach town that has become my home for the last four months. Needless to say, the frenetic energy of the party-hungry people was exciting, even if it meant having to deal with deafening fireworks and non-stop music at all hours of the night.

The truest form of Carnival happens in Las Tablas, a town located along Panamá’s Azuero peninsula. Las Tablas has gained notoriety for housing the largest Carnival celebration in all of Central America, complete with an extravagant parade through the town and concerts by national pop stars. Naturally, Las Tablas has also become the vacation destination for hardcore Carnival party animals, which means the hotels become outrageously expensive and are booked months in advance. This leaves most people no other option than to camp out in an empty field near the town’s main strip. The camping part is undoubtedly the fun part for the young crowd that can stand to party hard for four days without pause.

The annual parade is reminiscent of Toronto’s infamous Caribana parade – beautiful women and men dress up in elaborate costumes and dance down Las Tablas’ main street to the beat of salsa and reggaeton tunes.  The floats are very well decorated and also house groups of dancing participants. Since Carnival takes place during the dry season (which means temperatures are between 31-35 degrees Celisius daily), some floats rig up a series of hoses in which to spray down the crowds. One would think this could be a nuisance, but it’s part of the parade’s highlight for the thousands of onlookers who would otherwise bake in the Panamá sun.

Luckily for those who are unable to secure accommodations in Las Tablas, smaller celebrations of Carnival spill into every beach town and major city in Panamá. The beach towns within the province of Panamá (yes, the province shares the country’s name) are particularly busy during Carnival. There is also an extravagant parade in Panamá City, but many locals prefer to spend their long weekend an hour or two outside of the city where they can dig their toes into the sand and splash in the Pacific Ocean.