We are glad to see you here. Your comment gave us a good laugh. It is also too sad that the Americans did a good job of “eviscerating these towns,” as you have said, and unless we keep these Internet sites up and recounting our stories, our history and culture and legacy will be lost forever to the up and coming generations. Thanks again for your memories.
RR

It is strange to hear all this because the Americans did a great job of eviscerating these towns, because unless my parents told me about them I would never know. I still have difficulty placing Red Tank from Chiva Chiva.

My godmother knew Mother Wright and she used to say, “Mother Wright is always right.” She would repeat over and over again: “Mother Wright is never wrong.” Reading this essay, I now realize who she was referring to. Most of these spiritual women in Panama were also great herbalists, psychologists, midwives and even medical doctors. They knew the medicinal power and function of every “bush” that grew in the tropics. Some of them were also skilled in tending to parts of the body. I heard there was a woman who had female problems after giving birth and a “Madda”(Mother), with her own hands, was able to put the woman’s womb back into shape. And the main part of their function in the community is the spiritual comfort they brought to many, especially during those moments when things appeared to fall apart.

In Brazil, spiritual women are called “Mae de Santos.” These black women are some of the sweetest and most benevolent people on the earth, who apart from being spiritual leaders, I have noticed in Brazil they hold great positions of respect and honor in their communities.Even politicians visit them and seek their blessings in Bahia. Years ago when one of the greatest Mae de Santos died in Salvador, Bahia, I heard her burial ceremony was similar to that of a head of state.

I am glad Mother Wright was able to comfort the Chorrilleros during the invasion. Estoy de vuelta ace1. Salúadame a Lydia por favor.Un cordial saludo,Ana

I’m not sure where you got the words “hay que merjorar la raza” from our article but that is a notion inherited from the Spanish Siete Partidas of the 13th century and its repercussions into the New World domination by the Spaniards when we Blacks in Latin America were all assigned names from the “masters”, even in Jamaica where it was colonized by the Spanish first. So, the Spanish speaking blacks today feel that their surnames are more valid and accepted than the English surnames.

This is where we get the attitude in Panama that English surnamed Black people are automatically and forever “extranjeros.”
Please keep reading especially our latest articles regarding Armando Fortune and you must study your history.
RR

Thank you for stopping by. We take a lot of pains and time to write these articles so, when we receive feedback from readers such as you we appreciate it. You are right about the sacrifices of our ancestors, and that is our intent- to impress upon the younger generations of descendants, the magnitude of their sacrifice and that “sacrifice” implies all the values that go with “unselfishness.”

That particular story on Luis Thompson ends there for the time being. But the next article in our blog simply continues the story of the Silver People of Panama.