Carnaval Preparations in Pedasi

Watching preparations and mounting anticipation as Pedasi, Panama prepares for Carnaval

The last four days of our month-long stay in Pedasi on the southern tip of the Azuero Peninsula in Panama coincided with Carnaval. Carnival celebrations occur in many parts of the world in the days prior to the Christian solemn season of Lent. The nature of the festivities vary by location but typically involve public celebrations, costumes, parades, street parties, and a fair amount of alcohol consumption. Carnaval is a cultural tradition in Pedasi. My husband and I weren’t sure what to expect, but we watched preparations with interest. Visible preparations began almost two weeks before the event and intensified as the days grew near until the entire town seemed filled with an aura of anticipation.

In our first walks through Pedasi we’d noticed faded float decorations tucked behind buildings and in the back of open lots. These were now pulled out and moved, being spruced up for upcoming parades. As we walked past houses in the early evening, open doors revealed living rooms full of decorations.

We returned home from a day’s outing to find posters promoting Carnival queen Norma on the electricity poles along our street and on our neighbour’s front porch. One of the distinguishing features of Carnaval in Panama is the tradition of two competing queens, one representing Calle Arriba (uptown) and one representing Calle Abajo (downtown). Apparently we were in the Arriba area and Norma was our queen.

Pedasi town square — *Flags went up in the town square with banners bearing the name of a local beer, Soberana*

Pedasi Carnaval restaurant — *A new permanent cafe opened just in time for Carnaval,*
*and several temporary restaurants, like this one, were set up*

Food stalls Pedasi Carnaval — *Food and craft stalls lined one of the streets leading to the square*

Many houses in town posted signs advertising rooms for rent. A week before Carnaval, an empty lot separating us from the neighbours on one side was mowed and cleaned. We suspected it might be used for camping or overflow guests. In the couple of days prior to Carnaval, guests began to arrive at our neighbours’ homes. Music blasted from the yard of the neighbour at the back as they and guests sat on their patio and strung coloured feathers together for float decorations.

Carnaval party area — *The party area one street over from us was spruced up and Carnavales 2015 became Carnavales 2016*

We were told that over 4,000 people descend on Pedasi for Carnaval, effectively tripling the town population. I’d read the strain this put on power and water systems could result in outages. We were advised to stock up on food and supplies early in the week because supplies in the store could run low. We were told festivities lasted until about four in the morning, the time my husband is usually getting up to start his day. Pedasi is almost crime-free, but we were warned to exercise caution during Carnaval, There had been break-ins the previous year. I could feel the excitement in the town and looked forward to seeing how the festivities would unfold. Another part of me wondered if the crowds, the noise, the mess, and the security concerns would be too much to deal with. Either way we would find out. You can find out too by reading Carnaval in Pedasi.

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