Panama
By: Alma Martinez
World Geography
November 6, 2014
Why should you go to Panama?
Panama is the #1 most spoken Spanish language in Latin America. It's a great opportunity to take a vacation with there celebrations. Take up the opportunity and discover the fascinating Carnival for yourself! Why not enjoy the food and famous dances! If your a music lover you can attend the Panama Jazz Festival all types of music and dances lots of fun for a WEEK!
Religion
Most of the people in Panama are 85% Roman Catholic and 15% Protestants. Compared to Laredo, most people are either Christians or Catholic.
Iglesia San Pedro
The Iglesia San Pedro is second oldest colonial church in the Western Hemisphere.
Panama Pie Chart
This chart shows the percentage in about how many people are Roman Catholic and Protestants.
Inside of Iglesia San Pedro
Language
The majority of the people in Panama speak Spanish, about 14% of the people speak English, and some people are bilingual. Saying "Hello" in Panama would be "Hola".
Ethnic Groups
There are about 70% Mesizo (mixed with Amerindian and white), about 14% Amerindian and mixed (West Indian), about 10% White, and about 6% Amerinidian.
Customs/Traditions
Holidays celebrated there would be New Year's, Marty's Day, Carnival, Carnival/Shrove Tuesday, Carnival/ Ash Wednesday, March Equinox, Maundy Thursday, etc. Some festivals include Panama Jazz Festival, Panama Carnival, Easter, Old Panama City Day, Black Christ Festival, and Independence Day. Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Pop, Rock in Espanol, US hits, typical Folkloric music, Reggae, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Vallenato, Samba, Jazz, and Classical Music are the most listened music by the Panama people. Dances include Tamborito, Cumbia, Punto Panameno. There food is usually a consistence of fish, meat corn, fruits, and vegetables.
Economy
Being a well-developed services, Panama's dollar-based economy has been growing and expanding. The more it expands the more Canal's capacity it has. Some of their services include the Panama Canal, logistics, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism.
Holidays/Festivals
Black Christ is celebrated in October 21st which people go to the town of Potobelo and honor Jesus Christ. The Carnival is during the month of February and takes four days and leads to Ash Wednesday. People that like music attend the Panama Jazz Festival held in January for a week and mostly jazz and classical music are played but all music is also heard during that time of Festival.
Things to do in Panama City -- Screw what Tripadvisor says!