PANAMA, ACCORDING ANGEL RUBIO

Ángel Rubio, a Spanish scholar who later adopted the Panamanian nationality, once said that Panama was geographically Central American, historically South American and culturally Caribbean.

I started to hear that since my early childhood days, and every now and then I reflected on that. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me.

Panama`s Educational Authorities were wise enough to bring such scholars from the Old World as Richard Neumann and Ángel Rubio, among others, who fled from their troubled countries, by the Time World War II caused so much sorrow in Europe, back in the 20th Century.

Getting back to the point, I will explain why Rubio`s thesis makes so much sense to me, and in addition makes our country unique among all Nations:

• Geographically Central American: There is not a doubt that Panama is located in Central America, a subcontinent sited between the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Mexico) and the Isthmus of Panama.
• Historically South American: However, our Central American connection ends exactly where it started, in the geography. Panama was not part of the Central American Republic attempt, back in the Nineteenth Century, rather known as Central American Provinces (1824-1838). Central America had rather to do with Mexico, since the creation of the Audience of Guatemala in 1543, which ruled over the territories of all Central America until Costa Rica, including Chiapas, Tabasco and Yucatán. Therefore, from the colonial times up to now, it is known the “historical” Central America which doesn`t include Panama on one hand, and the “geographical” Central America, which does include Panama on the other hand.
Panama was a part of the Great Colombia from 1821 until 1903, historically linked to the Bolivarian Nations (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, et. al.). And during the colonial times, Panama was the point of departure for conquerors such as Francisco Pizarro who headed South, because we were part of the Viceroyalty of Peru and New Granada.
• Culturally Caribbean: Panama has always been a country of transit, a territory intimately mated with its coasts, a maritime nation. The closeness to our coasts led us to develop a coastal nature, and our close relation with other colonial ports, such as La Habana, Kingston, San Juan, Cartagena and Barranquilla, created a common Caribbean culture, in our Colon and Bocas del Toro shores. Even in our Pacific coasts we can breathe Caribbean features, such as the loud speaking, the spontainety of the people, our gastronomy, dances and music.
It is also important to recall the importance of the migration of the West Indian Man, adding an extra-element to our Caribbean culture.

What Ángel Rubio said was true in the middle of the 20th Century, and it is still valid.

Taking a look back, I would like to remark Panama´s richness as country with an ethnic variety, which you could also see in metropolis like New York, Paris or Amsterdam. People arrive here from the four corners of the world and learn to live in Peace: Christians, Muslims and Jews; Black, White and Yellow; Religious and Atheists.

Last but not least let us not forget the richness of our aborigin inheritance. In our countries there are still several Native American Aborigins.

EDILBERTO GONZÁLEZ-TREJOS
2004