The Bonfire

This past Thursday, my community had a bonfire as a little fundraiser to help fix the small park in the town. To raise the funds, drinks and food were sold. And, of course, there was the bonfire and really, excessively loud music.


The shindig was supposed to get underway at 7pm, and much to my surprise, the majority of people came at 7pm. This is shocking because, in general, Panamanians operate on ‘Panama Time’ which is a way of saying they move to the watch only my dad would love, i.e. always late. After sometime here, I’ve become adjusted this fact, but it doesn’t mean I’m a fan of it. As total darkness fell upon us at 7:30pm, the bonfire was lit and the food and started rolling.

I realized that help was needed in making the hojaldras, so I volunteered my services to help roll out the dough before they were sent to the pan. Here I am in action (note: you can also see the high and tight buzz I got in the back from my haircut):


As the night rolled on, the big activities became singing/dancing and jumping over the bonfire. After dancing to the newer pop music, some of the older folks made a push for more traditional Azuero music. And, yes, there was even some gritaring.


The party started to fizzle out around 10pm, with all the food and drink gone (money raised!). While it wasn’t a Thursday Ladies Night from college, all in all, it was a good time.