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Travel Related
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LA VILLA LOS SANTOS |
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 South
of Chitré just across the Río La Villa, LA VILLA DE LOS SANTOS - often
referred to simply as Los Santos - is where the first Panamanian
declaration of independence from Spain was made on November 10, 1821. A
small, quiet town, Los Santos comes alive twice a year: to commemorate
the "Cry of Independence" on November 10, and during the eight-day rum-fuelled
fiesta of Corpus Christi in late May or early June.
The IPAT office (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm; tel 966 8037 or 966 8013) on
Parque Bolívar, the centre of the town, is fairly helpful, with plenty
of information on the peninsula. Also on the parque, the Museo de la
Nacionalidad (Tues-Sat 9am-4.30pm, Sun 9am-1pm; US$1) has a small
collection of colonial religious art and documents relating to the
independence declaration. The building - a crumbling eighteenth-century
house where the declaration was signed - is actually more interesting
than its contents, with a garden filled with traditional handicrafts and
agricultural tools. Just off the parque, the Church of San Anastacio ,
begun in the eighteenth century, features several intricately carved
Baroque colonial altars.
From Los Santos the road continues 20km south to Las Tablas, passing
through the small town of GUARARÉ . It's worth stopping here for the
Museo Manuel F. Zarate (Tues-Fri 8am-4pm, Sat 8am-noon; US$1), behind
the church on the main square, which has a fascinating exhibition on the
folklore and fiestas of the peninsula, featuring masks, costumes, old
photographs and a collection of the finest polleras . Manuel Zarate was
a local teacher and musician who was dedicated to conserving the rich
folk traditions of the Azuero and in 1949 began the "La Mejorana"
National Folkloric Festival , a competition of traditional music, dance
and costumes from all over Panamá that is still celebrated in Guararé
every September 24.
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