La Chorrera Parade Celebrates 204 Years of Panama's Independence

The district of La Chorrera celebrated the 204th anniversary of Panama's independence from Spain with a civic parade, in which 86 school bands from various provinces of the country participated. Aquiles Acevedo, president of the organizing committee, indicated that the decision was made due to the high number of school delegations, and therefore there would not be time for independent bands to parade on the same day. In total, 15 independent bands will parade on the 29th. The leadership of both guilds claimed to have received permission from the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) to parade, although members of the National Police indicated they had a different order. This year, the Junta de Festejos y Efemérides Patrias opted to hold the school band parade on the 28th and the presentation of the independent bands on the 29th. The mayor of the district, Eloy Chong, also used his speech to highlight the value of those who, despite adversity, knew to put love for freedom first and, as an independent country, decide their own destiny. On this occasion, the city council designated the entrepreneur Juan Arias Strunz as the standard-bearer and the secretary general of the Meritorious Fire Corps of the Republic of Panama, José Tomás Batista, as the speaker. At the beginning of the parade, a tense situation arose between a group of teachers, members of the Single Union of Construction Industry Workers (SUNTRACS), and the National Police. In his speech, Batista highlighted the historical importance of the independence movement and the recovery of the celebration of this date by teachers and various groups of Chorreranos.