Program

Conversations in Panama

April 22-27, 2025
Página en español
Mola Map of Panama- part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Anthropology department collection

For the first international location in the program, Panama offers a unique opportunity and location to host conversations about its history and origins, providing a platform to explore diverse perspectives from across cultures, regions, and time periods. With the collaboration of these cultural organizations, the program will provide valuable insights into the historical complexities and contemporary identities within Panama, fostering meaningful dialogue about these pressing issues.

The Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past program is hosted by, and in collaboration with: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Centro de Centro de Investigaciones Históricas Antropológicas y Culturales – Panamá (CIHAC), Museo del Canal Interoceanico de Panama, Society of Friends of the Afro-Antillean Museum of Panama (SAMAAP).

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recorridos

"Panama Before the Canal" Exhibition Tours

11 a.m. & 3 p.m.

April 22-24

The slate of programs kicks off with guided tours offered twice daily for three days at Museo del Canal highlighting its newly renovated “Panama Before the Canal” exhibition. The exhibition explores the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama and its crucial role as a transit point since the arrival of the first migrants. These tours will be open to local schools, universities and the general public, with prior registration required.

Register
apprenticeship program
SAMAAP will present Overcoming Barriers: The Panama Canal Apprentice Program, a first-person documentary on the Panama Canal Apprentice School.  Despite many challenges, the Panamanian West Indian community looks upon this apprenticeship school as a way to access the professional and white-collar workforce. In a Q&A session with the audience, past apprentices will share their stories.   
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FREE, a musical drama relating the story of the West Indian migration to Panama, will be presented. The audience can encounter how Afro-Caribbeans arrived for the construction of the Panama Canal, understand the conditions of racial discrimination and rigid segregation practices and explore the key moments that have shaped Afro-Panamanian identity.  Members of the audience can dance, sing and be moved by a show that celebrates Afro-Panamanian history with strength and pride.  
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In collaboration with Malamaña Theater and Wagua Films, CIHAC will present La Gran Develación, an original play that revisits a foundational moment in Panama’s history—Balboa’s arrival to the South Sea in 1513—and invites Panamanians to contemplate history, citizenship, race relations and national identity. FREE ADMISSION.
7 people on a production poster
FREE, a musical drama relating the story of the West Indian migration to Panama, will be presented. The audience can encounter how Afro-Caribbeans arrived for the construction of the Panama Canal, understand the conditions of racial discrimination and rigid segregation practices and explore the key moments that have shaped Afro-Panamanian identity.  Members of the audience can dance, sing and be moved by a show that celebrates Afro-Panamanian history with strength and pride
graphic novel
CIHAC presents the graphic novel Tulenega. With illustrations by Aleks and script by Alberto Sarcina, Paolo Vignolo, and Camilo Murcia, Tulenega tells the fascinating story of four Guna (indigenous peoples of Panama and Colombia) delegates, who in the nineteenth century traveled to Bogota to speak with Colombia’s president. 
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STRI, in collaboration with MAC Panama, will co-host a retrospective exhibition celebrating a decade of Estudio Nuboso’s work in art and ecology. The film La Selva Llama will be screened, and programs complementing the exhibition will highlight the intersection of science, culture and social justice, particularly in the context of community-centered conservation and environmental stewardship in Panama.  .
two women on stage, one with a microphone
An academic and community panel of experts will discuss the cultural, historical, ethnic and racial society of Panama, conducted in Spanish and English. Prior registration required.   
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[SOLD OUT].Join Museo del Canal’s Noche Cultural event, celebrating the combination of rich discussions, Panamanian gastronomy, history tours, and cultural expressions from Panama’s provinces and indigenous regions celebrating history, heritage, and diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. Prior registration required. 
Panama panel

Concluding Panel Discussion  

Panama: Past, Present and Future

 

Sunday April 27  3-5:30PM
Museo del Canal 

 

A panel and closing reception with the participating institutions will conclude the National Conversation on Race program. With Panama’s complex racial past, how can Panamanians collectively build a better future?  Prior registration required.  

Register