Monthly Archives: October 2008

A Scramble for Safety

Posted on October 30, 2008 by | Leave a comment
One of my old Balboa Notebooks


Back in my sixth grade classroom, after having helped out with the big Friday night dance, it was indeed a place in which I now commanded some passive attention from my classmates. As usual I still held on to my guarded, isolated status as I reached for the trusted Spanish novela I had been reading since the beginning of class that year. Feigning to be more interested in reading than in Albina Romero, the girl at the back of the classroom who I had danced all night with, I ignored most all of my classmates. Continue reading →

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Posted in Colon, West Indian Panamanians

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The 1941 Constitution- The Prohibited Immigrants

Posted on October 26, 2008 by | 4 Comments


At his point it is important to underline the tireless work of Pedro Rhodes, a young, well known and well versed lawyer from Colon who, together with George W. Westerman, initiated a challenge to the 1941 Constitution long before it became law in January of 1941. Continue reading →

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Posted in Racism in Panama, Silver People of Panama, West Indian Panamanians

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The 1941 Constitution- The Political Backdrop

Posted on October 23, 2008 by | Leave a comment


Arnulfo Arias Madrid

By the time I was born during the mid-1930’s the political climate in the small Republic of Panama was heating up to fever pitch and the racist and xenophobic tide in popular attitudes found their greatest exponent in one particular spokesman. Arnulfo Arias Madrid was born in Penonomé, the capital of Coclé province in western Panama on August 15, 1901. Upon being awarded a government scholarship he went to high school in Binghamton, New York, and then attended the University of Chicago and Harvard University which awarded him a medical degree. Continue reading →

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Posted in Racism in Panama, Silver People of Panama, West Indian Panamanians

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The Black Christ of Portobelo Part II

Posted on October 19, 2008 by | 1 Comment

The Black Christ of Portobelo. Image thanks to monumentoshistóricos.com

Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor. Image thanks to grandesestrellas.com

 

The Church of San Felipe de Portobelo. Image thanks to tripadvisor.com

Through the years, many important miracles have been attributed to the Black Christ. The most well known miracle, however, is probably the one connected to the popular Puerto Rican singer, Ismael Rivera. In 1975, “the Brujo of Borinquen” (The Wizard of Borinquen) was about to give up his successful musical career due to his chronic addiction to drugs. Continue reading →

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Posted in Church in Panama, West Indian Panamanians

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The Black Christ of Portobelo Part I

Posted on October 17, 2008 by | 4 Comments

Here I am dressed in the Nazarene's colors.

The splendid robes of the Black Christ of Portobelo.

My grandmother, Fanny Reid, was the first person I ever heard mention the Black Christ of Portobelo. I never made a pilgrimage to that Atlantic coastal village with her (and I don’t think she ever did either) but, she often made mention of him and of how he was peculiar to Panama. From that moment on in my childhood I developed a longing to know about this figure that lately has given rise to much controversy and ever more devotion from many parts of the world. Continue reading →

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Posted in West Indian Panamanians

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Casa Muller “Mullah” Building

Posted on October 12, 2008 by | 10 Comments

Muller or Miller Building.

Casa Muller or Muller Building
circa 1972, just before it was demolished.
Image thanks to Sr. Justo Pardo Villalaz

The grand Hotel Tivoli located in Ancon, CZ
had comfortable accommodations for visiting American
and other white foreigners visiting the Zone.
Image thanks to Panamaliving.com

In 1976 a news article by Earl V. Newland appeared in a leading local newspaper that he dedicated to the descendants of the first member of the Müller family. This man had passed through Panama en route to California smitten by the “gold fever” that had spread throughout North America when, as we know, in the middle of the nineteenth century gold was discovered in the Mother Lode country of that great western state.

Mr. Muller was little impressed with what he finally saw in California after, more than likely, not finding any of the shiny metal. He promptly returned to Panama, however, where he eventually managed to find his fortune. In Panama he did find his first rare treasure, a wife, as he married not long after his return. His name was Oscar Muller. Continue reading →

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Posted in Calidonia, West Indian Panamanians

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