The city of Colón, on the Atlantic coast of Panama with deep Afro-descendant roots, hosted an international event this Friday dedicated to heritage, historical memory, and integration. It was a «space for dialogue and a regional milestone» to place culture at the center of the Caribbean agenda.
«Rescuing the legacy of our ancestors, our shared worldview, and our history that is the culture that identifies us,» stated Panama's Minister of Culture, María Eugenia Herrera, during the opening ceremony. Her message was directed at the authorities present from the 25 member countries of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), as well as specialists and artists from the region gathered at the Colón Art and Culture Center (CACCO).
Herrera emphasized that «this meeting is a space for dialogue and a regional milestone» and a call to action to place culture at the center of the ministerial agenda, defining it as «the beginning of a new stage, a roadmap for this century... recognizing that culture is a strategic axis for the future of the Greater Caribbean».
Panama's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Guevara Mann, also highlighted the patrimonial value of the Caribbean and the contribution of Afro-descendant peoples to the historical and cultural construction of the region. One of the central axes of the event was the panel «Afro-descendant Cultural Heritage», for the safeguarding of this legacy, and the panel «Caribbean Integration», focused on regional cultural cooperation, with the participation of ministers and representatives of AEC member countries such as Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Barbados, Bahamas, Honduras, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
«It is a historical space of constant exchange, where human trajectories crossed many times violently, but where extraordinary gestures of solidarity, creativity, and affirmation of humanity also emerged,» expressed the vice minister. He highlighted that the international projection of these cultural expressions «cannot be disconnected from their history and the values that made them possible».
The event positions Colón as a key point in Caribbean cultural dialogue and highlights Afro-descendant heritage as a pillar of shared identity, memory, and future. In this sense, the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), Noemí Espinoza, the second woman and first Honduran to hold the position, stressed the importance of holding the cultural meeting in the province of Colón, located on Panama's Caribbean coast and at the northern entrance to the Panama Canal.
«Colón is a territory traversed by history, mobility, resistance, and Afro-descendant heritage,» she said. «This is an invitation to fulfill this vision together. To listen to each other, unite our voices, take the baton to run the race that will happily lead us to the finish line».
