Panama is an emerging nation with a high-income economy, a high literacy rate, and a booming services sector, making its exoticization mindboggling. Like nature documentary-making in the jungle, journalistic pursuit in a cityscape requires observation of events as they are without tampering with them, holding any preconceptions at bay. Even Panama City’s residents made a profound impact on me with their markedly easygoing demeanour. The blaring of celebratory horns deep into the still night after a World Cup football qualifier match victory against El Salvador, the tropical downpour coming seemingly out of nowhere that soaks one right to the bone, and the grind of daily life – the locals take these all in their stride. Having had the privilege of visiting it, I can unequivocally say that Panama City is a vibrant city with traditions, modernity, and soul. This journalistic distortion is also jarring when accounting for the distinctive Panamanian calm demeanour. In fact, my very first memory of Panama City is recalling the seamless booking of a rideshare service. A resident taking a break in the shade in Casco Viejo on a rather hot and busy afternoon and the owner of a souvenir shop along Amador Causeway on a contrasting day of heavy downpour informed me it is the Panamanian way; not a lot pierces the protective shield of resilience fortified over generations. For example, a rideshare driver’s offhand remark that the residents would be willing to resort to bloodshed, should Panama-US relations sour again, in a parallel drawn with two-century-old historic events, cannot be taken literally. This is not a trip down memory lane for an intoxicating whiff of childhood nostalgia. They are ordinary human beings grappling with the consequences of economic disparity. Conversational nuance requires discernment.
