Panama City

By Alpana Varma Chariatte

When the English pirate Henry Morgan plundered and razed Panama Viejo in 1671, the first European settlement in the Pacific was lost, only to be rebuilt two years later a few miles away. His onslaught from the rear, the side of the Río Chagres, took the inhabitants by surprise as they had braced themselves only for a possible attack from the ocean ahead of them.

Founded on August 15, 1519, Panama City served as the base where all the gold originating in Peru was gathered and then directed to Portobelo on the Atlantic side, to be shipped to Spain.

As you walk among the ruins that are left today, you find signs of daring, perseverance, adventure and organization by a people who undertook a long, arduous journey in pursuit of wealth and grandeur in unknown lands.

The importance of the church in colonial times is very evident. In addition to the Cathedral, there are six convents with their churches and the San Juan de Dios Hospital. You can take a guided tour of old city with a member of the tourist police, an innovative Panamanian institution, whereby a policeman not only looks after the security of tourists but also gives a detailed historical account of a site. A major restoration effort is currently under way to bring back the city’s colonial splendor: part of it is being funded by the government of Spain.

The city had no walls for protection and the Cathedral, the layout of which is shaped like a cross, also performed a defensive function. Next to the Cathedral is the Treasury, where the gold was kept, adjoined by a monastery, the bishop’s quarters and the slave market. The street through which the slaves would escape to the forest on the mountain still exists today. A largely Afro-Panamanian town still exists on the mountain today: they are the descendents of these escaped slaves. The rebuilt city, called Casco Antiguo, or the old quarter of Panama City, is surrounded by battlements and a wall. Unfortunately, this area was plagued by frequent fires and little remains of what was originally there. Its development received a big boost when, in the wake of the gold rush to California, the trans-Panama railway was constructed in 1846.

A number of ornate buildings in French, Spanish and Italian style can be seen here, housing the national theater, the Cathedral, the church of St. Francis of Assisi and the History Museum. Many historical buildings were reduced to slums, when in the early 20th century, the well-to-do citizens left for greener pastures in newer neighborhoods where they could move into American-style garden villas. Now there is an attempt to restore this colonial architecture with UNESCO help.

The construction of the Panama Canal generated a boom at the end of the 19th century. The fascinating account of not only the Panama Canal, but also the arrival of the Spaniards in the continent, is provided in the Interoceanic Canal Museum. Unfortunately, the information is only in Spanish. It is housed in what was originally the Grand Hotel and later became the office of the French company in charge of digging the canal.

This ever-changing city is now once again in the midst of a construction boom, this time consisting of high-rise condominiums and office buildings. Being a major banking centre and located close to the free-trade zone of Colón, the city’s importance as a business centre is constantly growing. More importantly, Panama is trying to attract retirees (mainly from the U.S., but also from South America, as well as Europe), with ample incentives to settle in its inexpensive cities. Some of this urbanization is quite haphazard in the Paitilla and Punta Pacífica neighborhoods. A new upscale neighborhood in Costa del Este aims to be the new Miami, with a well planned layout, ultra-modern luxurious apartments in skyscrapers, business centers, malls, not to mention the breathtaking ocean views.

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