Category Archives: Colon

My Refuge

Posted on June 18, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Scene from La Playita today. It is sad how very few changes have ocurred in Colon as in Panama City in terms of recreational places for the people. All of our governments have been guilty of total neglect. Image thanks to almanaqueazul.com

The first girl to show up that day from our class was a Chinese-Panamanian girl named Lily. She had come with our youth group who’d met her at her house and marched all the way to the beach. The whole group of us finally met up with the other West Indian boys and girls in our class who were now arriving at La Playita. Continue reading →

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La Playita

Posted on June 8, 2013 by | 1 Comment
La Playita today but, 60 years ago there were fewer houses and more scenery. The water was great. Image thanks to almanaqueazul.com

La Playita today but, 60 years ago there were fewer houses and more scenery. The water was great. Image thanks to almanaqueazul.com

Colon Province has always been known for its beautiful and alluring beaches which I still hadn’t had time to explore. Turns out the guys in the class planned a beach trip one day  just a little bit before the start of rainy season. “Hey Riri, let’s go to the beach this afternoon after school,” said Tito Johnson, “Everyone in the classroom will be there.” “Sure,” I said, “but, let me see if I can get some bathing trunks.” “Don’t worry about that,” said Johnson, “I’ll loan you a pair if you can’t find anything appropriate.” I was thrilled at the invitation since the girls from our class appeared to be eager to go as well. Continue reading →

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Bobby’s Son

Posted on May 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment
Bobby Grant at age 95, a few months before his death. God bless him.

Bobby Grant at age 95, a few months before his death. God bless him.

The mysteries surrounding the care and treatment of women that I had learned earlier on in my life from that terribly pragmatic pimp in Marañon were working like a charm.  I was keeping the beauties of Abel Bravo at bay and clinging to my studies as I had never done before and, what’s more,  my mother seemed to respect my apparent alone-ness although genuine conversations between us were quite rare. Continue reading →

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A Part of Colon Now

Posted on May 4, 2013 by | 6 Comments
View of the City of Colon from the northern point. Image thanks to wikipedia.org

View of the City of Colon from the northern point. Image thanks to wikipedia.org

Tito, I soon learned, came from Westindian Panamanian parents who had the physical characteristics of the culizos. Culizos in Panama bear the racial attributes of East Indians and my new friend had that distinct swarthy skin color, chocolate-brown, with a slight curl to his mostly straight hair. These features all combined in Tito to make him a good looking guy although he was a little shorter in stature than me.

We walked in silence towards the center of the city where we both lived when we were suddenly met by another guy, a mulatto in appearance. “Hey, this is my friend Riri who came here from Panama,” says Tito gregariously. Continue reading →

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The Crew With a Different View

Posted on April 15, 2013 by | Leave a comment
Chart of the male reproductive organs. Image.

Chart of the male reproductive organs. Image.

That first day at Abel Bravo College I found myself in our classroom pretending to read a book in my attempt to isolate myself from the rest of the boys. This, after all, had been the way I had developed to protect myself from any emotional attacks I feared would follow me from Panama City. Continue reading →

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A Brief History of Colegio Abel Bravo

Posted on March 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Entrance to the College. Image thanks to Patrimonio Histórico.

At the beginning of my last article I stated that Don Abel Bravo’s “life and work helped to unite us as Abel Bravistas, even when we found ourselves living in the States and other overseas locations.” May I just add that the College, as we West Indian kids called it, also gave us a sense of belonging and place in this world that we inherited from our forefathers. Let’s talk about the actual school building, how it was founded, its facilities and its human inhabitants. Continue reading →

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