Brooklyn, New York. – The Parade of Independence of Panama has been celebrated for 26 years and focuses on: the diverse and rich heritage of the country, music, dance, art, gastronomy.
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Enrique Smalls, the President of the Day of Independence Committee of New York He explains that the city celebrates it in October to take advantage of the heat and go to Panama the following month. Normally the official celebration of Panamanian Independence Day is on November 3.
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Jackelyn Briggs was one of the spectators in the parade and danced with emotion as she heard the procession of drums passing through the streets. His parents were born in Panama and his grandparents are from Cuba and Colombia. She exclaims that “it is a beautiful thing to see how different cultures in the United States come together to celebrate their culture and heritage.”
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Smalls’ ancestry is Afro-Caribbean and his ancestors came to the country through the construction of the Panama canal. Explain that their ancestors “They came from the Antilles, from Barbados and Jamaica. They were a crucial instrument in building the Panama Canal. So I’m here representing them as well. “
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In fact, the Afro-Latino presence in Panama is great. Elias Levy, the Panama consul in New York says that “In the Republic of Panama for 2014 there was a 15 percent percentage of Afro-descendant Panamanians.”
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“There is a time that we contributed so much to the development of Panama. Many people did not have as much knowledge in terms of what we have done for the development of the country. We deserve to be recognized for the contributions we have made to the country, ”Rogelio Greaves told us.
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Origins of Reggaeton in Panama
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Besides the channel, one of the most important contributions that Afro-Caribbean people brought was the musical influence.
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With the influx of immigrants from the Caribbean, reggae began to enter Panama. With the passage of time, Panamanian artists such as El General and Nando Boom began to translate the songs from English to Spanish, creating the basis of reggaeton.
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The love of his homeland never disappears
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Regardless of the number of years or generations that Panamanians have in the United States, the members of this parade have an undeniable love for their homeland.
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Hilda Diez, is the founder of the Panama Molas Society in New York. In 1955 he saw how other immigrants could celebrate their countries with their traditions, but he did not see the same for Panamanians, so in 1965 he premiered his group in the Hispanic parade.
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Levy explained to us that many of the Panamanians living in the United States came from a first wave of immigration. However, they are considered and registered as Panamanians. She gives us an example “Judge Michelle Johnson, judge of the Supreme Court of Queens, born here, but loves Panama and has been registered in the Panamanian Civil Registry. Of those there are many ”.
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America Maldonado, the vice president of the Molas De Panama Society and Diez’s daughter explains it perfectly by saying “Being an American born here in the United States, my mother is Panamanian and I have followed my mother’s tradition for more than fifty years since I was little, I am dancing and representing Panama, here in New York ”.
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The Panamanian parade in New York It is the largest outside of Panama and is held in October of each year in Brooklyn between Bergen Street and Franklin Avenue. It culminates in a festival on Classon Avenue between President Street and Eastern Parkway that attracts more than 30,000 people.
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