On Tuesday, December 9th, at 3:24 a.m., the Christmas fairs of the Agricultural Marketing Institute (IMA) kicked off in Llano Marín, Coclé. The event moved so quickly that by 4:45 a.m. there were no lines left, according to director Nilo Murillo. People were already lining up when the moon was still up. From early morning, thousands flocked to buy the festive combo, which this year remains at $15 and includes a picnic ham, rice (5 lbs), oil or pineapple, sugar, and pigeon peas. In Penonomé alone, some 7,000 people had been served before full sunrise, and the flow remained brisk: in, buy, leave. “Here the boxes are per family, not per person… but we know that there are those who come two or three at a time to pick them up.” Murillo insisted that the program is designed for households, not for repeated individual purchases.
