First Shout for Independence Parade
Nov 13th, 2007 by Don Ray
Saturday was the First Shout for Independence Parade. The start of the Panamanian independence is believed to have begun on November 10, 1821 when the town of Los Santos was lifted the Panama population against Spanish rule. The head of this revolt for freedom was reported to be 22 year old Rufina Alfaro, a young lady who became the symbol of national independence.
This parade is always fun to go to because you get to see a lot of the ornate Panamanian dress for the women and tipico attire for the gents. You can almost put your mind back in the early 1800s and picture Panama posturing itself for independence. Besides the photos you will see in this post, all photos that I took of the parade, can be found in the Chiriquí Chatter Photo Album.
As you look at the photos, imagine the sound of happy music and and laughing and singing. You get a real flavor of Panama and its past, if you become a part of the festivities that will occur today.
Lets mosey on down and get a good location to see the parade. As pass some of the participants, it will be a good time to get a couple photos, while they are still getting ready.
Here are three types of traditional dress.
Here is one of the floats awaiting its passenger. The oxen are waiting patiently like all of us males that have nose rings to keep us under control.
We are now in position and awaiting the start of the parade. I heard that the starting time was 9:00 AM, but as is typical, it is approaching 9:45 and we have a little more wait for it to begin.
The crowd has gathered and I see that one of the Chiriqui Chatter readers has spied me in the crowd. Hi Lilia!
This vendor of puppets is in advance of the parade and searching for young ones, whose parents will buy his wares.
This young on looks like a likely candidate, but he is just anxious for the parade.
And it begins! Leading off the parade was a group called the Road Tigers.
Here comes the second group.
Besides the music from the bands, thare was the sounds of exploding rockets. You can see evidence of ones that have exploded. They are the dark spots amoung the clouds.
There plenty of marching beauties.
There were those dressed in typical Panamanian attire.
There were young ones.
There were floats/carts.
Here is Antonio Singh in the center of this photo. He will be the emcee of Moon Valley Jazz Night 2.
They tried to get this little one to display here dress, but she just couldn’t do it. you can see the wheels turning in her mind.
The parade ended with some horses and riders.
And last was the necessary cleanup crew.
Don’t forget to visit the CC Photo Album to see all of the photos. There are a total of 142 photos.
Here is a video that I took during the parade. Please excuse the quality and shakiness. I had the Canon in my left hand taking video, while I had the Olympus in my right hand taking regular photos. All in all, considering that, it didn’t come out too bad.
Thank you! the parade looks great. I wish I could have been there
Hi Will. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Great pics! Love the polleras!
One word come to mind:
Gorgeous!
Thank you, Don!
Roberto
Irina and Roberto. Thanks for dropping in.
Hi Don, thanks for the picture…
Nice Sombrero I have jajaja…
See you at the Moon Valley Jazz Night No. 2
Hi Antonio.
I don’t think I am going to be able to make it this year. Maybe Moon Valley Jazz Night 3.
Hi Don: Thanks for the picture! Mom and I had a good time watching the parade especially because of the children who looked so pretty and were so excited wearing their traditional costumes.
Lilia
Hi Lilia. I enjoyed them also. The kiddos are the most fun to watch.
I especially appreciated the picture of the clown; ox drawn carts (and clean-up crew!); the Polleras and yes, the children stole the show.
Thank you for going to all the effort to bring these photos and the clip!
Hi Margo. Thanks for the comment. I am glad you enjoyed the parade.
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