Panama

Panama:

Panama is best known, here the United States, for the Panama Canal, and why shouldn’t it be. Tolls from the canal make up much of the county’s GDP. The U.S. was a significant player in its construction and control. In fact, the U.S. had partial control of the canal up until 1999 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal). Because of heavy U.S. influence in the region, much of Panama’s current culture is influenced by the U.S. For example, the notational sport of Panama is the same as ours, baseball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama#Sports).

Obviously, being a Central American country the U.S. is not the only influence to their culture. Much of the traditional dress of the country comes from Spain, with heavy influence from the Native Americans who were present there during the Spanish colonization. Escaped slaves had also settled in Panama, lending a heavy African influence to their culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama).

Martyrs Day

On January 13^th of this year Panama will be celebrating martyr’s day. It is normally celebrated on January 9, marking the anniversary of rioting in the Panama Canal Zone, where many were injured, and twenty died (http://news.liveandinvestoverseas.com/Travel/panamas-martyr-day-explained.html). The riot was over something fairly simple: “Who had the right to raise their flag in the Panama Canal Zone, the U.S. or Panama?” The truth was, that president Kennedy had declared that both could be flown side by side, but many of the Americans in the area refused to raise the Panama flag, so Panamanian students marched into another high school and did so (http://everydaysaholiday.org/panama-martyrs-day/).

Movie:

For today’s movie, I chose to watch “Pelicula Chance” or simply “Chance”.  I was not able to find a copy of the movie with English sub titles, so I am afraid that much of the movie’s humor was lost on me. However, you do not need to understand Spanish to figure out much of what is going on here. The performers strong acting skills do just fine in conveying exactly what is going on. This is a powerful film, filled with both humor and seriousness. If there was ever an example of why you should treat your hired help well, this is it.

The plot of the movie is pretty straight forward. Basically, the two servants working for a rich spoiled family are fed up with the ill treatment they are receiving, so they kidnap the family in their own home. While the whole family had abused the two maids, the main perpetrator of the infractions had been carried out by the lady of the house. She is forced to take a good hard look at her life. First by dressing up as a maid and being forced to do the chores that the two maids do daily, and later by being forced to pawn her own possessions. Through which she finds that her world is not as perfect as she imagined. She finds out that some of the things she owns are worth less then she thought, that her two daughters are a little slutty, and that her husband has cheated on her (with a man).

Food:

Food in Panama is influence by Native Central America, Spain, and Creole, with many tropical fruits and coconut mixed in with their diet. Indeed many of their dishes coincide with that of Mexico, like there rice pudding, and tamales.

For breakfast I had the left over rice pudding that I had made for Dia de los Reyes. For lunch I made myself fish tacos in corn tortillas. I hadn’t planned dinner for tonight as well as I should have, and am missing at least one ingredient important to every recipe I had found, except one.

When I was in Spain, I had a wonderful dish, chicken in orange sauce (see: Seville, Spain). I found the recipe in a Panama recipe sight. The sight just said how to make the sauce, and suggested putting it over chicken, fish, tofu, or even yams, and I thought, “Hey I still have tilapia (a white fish) in the house, and I have the ingredients for the sauce. Let’s try making this.” Here is the recipe for the sauce: http://jottify.com/works/the-best-dishes-of-panamanian-cuisine/ .The recipe is under: “Salsa de Naranja (Orange Sauce)”. Instead of garnishing the fish with an orange wedge, I used star fruit. Star fruit was originally grown  in South East Asia, but has grown popularity in  central America. Panama is now one of the places its grown. 

I served this with coconut rice, which is sometimes served in Panama, and with a spinach side salad topped with papaya. Papaya is a fruit originally from central America. Instead of salad dressing, I used lime juice, which is often used in Panama's cuisine.  

Work Cited:

Benaim, Abner. “Pelicula, Chance”.  NR 2012. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

"Camambola". Wikipedia.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carambola. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

 “Panama”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

“Panama Canal”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

“Panama’s Martyrs Day”. Everyday’s a Holiday. http://everydaysaholiday.org/panama-martyrs-day/. Retrieved: January 9, 2014

 “Panamas Martyrs Day Explained”. http://news.liveandinvestoverseas.com/Travel/panamas-martyr-day-explained.html. Published: 17 January 2013. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

"Papaya". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaya. Retrieved: January 9, 2014.

Petrov, Roland. “The Best Dishes of Panamanian Cuisine”. http://jottify.com/works/the-best-dishes-of-panamanian-cuisine/ . Retrieved: January 8, 2014.