Panama Ok, Im going to flip-flop a bit because I know a lot more about Panamanian food, art, music, etc.

than I do about the other Latin American country I was researching: Argentina. Also, I think what I have to say about Argentina would be pretty repetitive of my posts last week. So, here is what I have learned about Panama from living here for the last year: Food: Panama is indigenous of for Full of Fish and is an isthmus surrounded by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, so it stands to reason that the main food source is seafood. The main types of seafood are corvina, which is a sea bass, langostinos, or prawns (personal favorite!), and pulpo, or octopus (other personal favorite!!). Another popular food is sancocho, chicken soup. Some foods that I really like to eat are arroz con guandu, which is rice made with coconut milk and pigeon peas, patacones, which are friend plantains, tajadas, friend sweet plantains, and yuca, which a root vegetable like a potato. Music: Panama has a pretty lively music industry, and their national musical style is called Typico. It is a very unique style of music that is used in traditional festivals and has also been popularized by national acts such as Sammy y Sandra Sondoval. Typico music incorporates a type of yodeling that is indicative of Panamanian tradition. A lot of radio stations here play Typico exclusively which shows how popular it is. Art: In Panama, the indigenous art is very popular, especially among tourists. The Guna Indian community produces extremely intricate tapestries called Molas on which they create designs by layering differently colored fabrics, then cutting away designs, folding the edges under, and sewing by hand. The result is beautiful. Also popular is ceramics which Panamanians use to decorate their houses, inside and out. There is a typical style of pottery design that is indicate of Panamanian pottery which is reminiscent of pre-Colombian indigenous artwork. I should note that all of the examples I have used are indicative of a traditional Panama. Panama is unique among Latin American countries because there are really two Panamas co-existing in one country: the City and the interior. While Panama City is crowded with skyscrapers and fancy cars (and horrible traffic) the interior of the country is still 3rd world. Out of the 3 million people who live in Panama, more than half live in Panama City, and their lives couldnt be more different. City dwellers love the ultra-modern, so you would rarely see a Mola or traditional pot decorating a sleek city apartment. Also, the residents of Panama City could spotted eating sushi more often than sancocho. You can also be sure that they young people in Panama City are listening to American rock n roll, regeton and hip-hop, not Typico. Some of this is due to the presence of Americans for over 100 years while they occupied the zone around the canal. American pop-culture and English became engrained in Panamanian society. The result is a Latin American country who are bilingual Spanish and English speakers, and even the formation of a new language unique to Latin America. Many people call it Spanglish as a joke, but in Panama it is real. Phrases like Que Pretty! or Que Cool! are commonplace. People here look for parking and roll their eyes and say whatever when frustrated. This is not just a way of playing with language, this is the language that people here learn in their earliest experiences with language. When working with people from other Spanish-speaking countries, they often express confusion when talking to Panamanians, even though they are both native Spanish speakers.