PANAMA
own terms. Among them is Efraín Guerrero, who grew up in Santa Ana and founded Movimiento Cultural Identidad. His goal is simple: to challenge long-held perceptions and show visitors that these communities are defined not by their past struggles but by their culture and creativity. We join Efraín for lunch at Café Coca-Cola, a
fitting stop on the tour. Opened in 1875, it’s Panama’s oldest cafe and the only one in the world licensed to use the Coca-Cola name. Today, it’s one of 14 small businesses featured on Movimiento Cultural Identidad’s community-led tours, helping to ensure visitor spending stays within the neighbourhood and benefits local residents. Inside, little has changed: waiters move between tiled tables, old Coca-Cola signs line the walls and locals linger over hearty soups and plates of ceviche. From there, we continue into El Chorrillo,
where street vendors call to passing customers and domino games unfold beneath the shade of roadside trees. At Cementerio Amador, a dignified stone archway and ornate iron fencing mark the resting place of some of Panama’s most notable figures, including the country’s first president, Manuel Amador Guerrero. But it’s the living city that Jonathan and Efraín are most eager to showcase. By lunchtime, we’re squeezing into El Gato Negro for bowls of lentil soup before
crossing the street to Panadería La Venezolana, where trays of freshly baked mamallena (a rich Panamanian bread pudding) disappear almost as quickly as they emerge from the oven. Later, seated on picnic chairs in a small patch
of shade, Efraín doesn’t mince his words. “There’s no doubt that gentrification is coming,” he says. “National tourism grew 8% last year alone, and I can see the changes that money is bringing. It’s good, of course, but I don’t want to lose the real Panama — the raw Panama.” For Efraín, the answer lies in changing how
visitors experience these areas. Rather than focusing only on architecture or redevelopment, Movimiento Cultural Identidad puts the locals — the artists, bakers, guides, shopkeepers and residents — at the centre of the story. “This isn’t a place manufactured for your
enjoyment,” he says. “It’s a place where people live. You aren’t just buying the experience of being here; you’re experiencing it as one of us.”
HOW TO DO IT: Movimiento Cultural Identidad runs two-hour tours in English, starting from £19. Tours begin at Plaza Santa Ana and take in the neighbourhood’s markets, murals and family-run kitchens, with all proceeds going directly back into the community.
instagram.com/movimiento_identidad
TOP FIVE
SIGHTS TO SEE IN PANAMA CITY
1
Museo Afro-Antillano Trace the history of Afro-
Antillean culture in Panama at this small museum, which pays homage to the thousands of Caribbean labourers who worked on the railroad and the canal.
micultura.gob.pa
2
Museo de la Mola Get a window into the
spiritual world of the Indigenous Guna through the 200 colourful molas (blouses) displayed here. Hand-embroidered using reverse applique, their designs reflect the Guna’s connection with the universe.
museodelamola.org
3
Museo del Canal Interoceánico
de Panamá Comb through information- packed rooms at this extensive museum, which explores Panama’s role as a global trading hub through the construction — and politics — of the canal.
museodelcanal.com
4 5
Plaza de Francia This small square on the
southernmost tip of Casco Viejo memorialises the 22,000 French workers who died during the first doomed attempt at constructing the Panama Canal.
Panama Viejo The city’s original iteration
as a Spanish settlement was destroyed by privateers in 1671, and its ruins can be explored here, with urban plans and artefacts in the museum.
patronatopanamaviejo.org
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER – LATIN AMERICA COLLECTION 17
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