WARNING: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY learning Spanish that no one speaks.
Master real Latin American Spanish via your iPod. Learn more at learningspanishlikecrazy.com
Google Maps now have pretty good coverage of Panama such as this of Casco Viejo. Unfortunately it uses the numbered road names, that no one knows for many of the roads. But pretty cool non the less.
Cut’s of meat change names wherever you are. The names have very little similarity with the names in the US. But even if you think you know the cuts of meat in Spanish based on what they are called in Mexico, Spain or Argentina they are likely to be completely different in Panama.
I just discovered that Supermercado Rey have a great diagram and explanation of the various cuts:
Compare this to this US chart from West Wind Farms to give you an idea of what is what:
The best cuts in Panama for cheap tasty steaks are Filete (tenderloin) or Costillon (ribeye).
This mail has been circulating Panamanian emails for a while now. If you know some Spanish it’s a fun intro to Panamanian slang. I’ve added small translations where I was able to in brackets:
El panameño no ignora: chifea (ignore)
El panameño no tiene “mucha hambre”: tiene “buka hambre (very hungry - buka is from French Creole)
“El panameño no se emborracha: queda hasta la tuza (drunk)
El panameño no dice Hola, te dice: que xopa (whats up)
El panameño no tiene amigos: tiene pasiero (has friends)
El panameño no roba: transa (rob)
El panameño no convence: tira lírica (convince)
El panameño no toma siestas: echa un cinco (nap)
El panameño no va rápido: va a balazo (goes quickly - like a bullet)
El panameño no toma: chupa (drink)
El panameño no pide que lo lleven: pide un bote (ask for a ride)
El panameño no dice lesbiana: dice tortillera (Lesbian)
El panameño no dice licor dice: guaro (Booze)
El panameño no dice homosexual, dice: cueco (Homosexual)
El panameño no tiene novia: tiene ley, candado, amarre, grua, lo que sea que pueda impedir la libertad del mismo. (girlfriend)
El panameño no dice locura: dice ponchera (crazyness)
El panameño no dice que esta bien: dice que ta’ cool (good)
Para el panameño no hay algo bonito: hay algo solido, pritty, de agencia, de alante. (beautiful, great)
El panameño no dice chofer: dice palanca (driver)
El panameño no es celador: es wachiman—- WATCHINGMAN???? (security guard)
El panameño no le dice a la mujer que es bella: le dice quees un pay. (babe - as in she’s a babe)
El panameño no se olvida de alguien: lo escracha - (forgets someone - maybe from scratch?)
El panameño no es adinerado: ta montao - (Moneyed, rich)
El panameño no tiene carro: tiene nave - (Has a car - nave means boat)
El panameño no escucha reggae:escucha plena - (Reggae)
Para el panameño algunas mujeres no son feas: son unos bagres - (ugly women - probably from vagabond)
El panameño no anda en un carro descuidado: anda rodandoen una roña (??)
El panameño jamas ha tenido una casa: siempre ha tenido su chantin’ (House/Home)
El panameño no dice cigarrillos: dice blancos (Cigarettes)
El panameño no dice que no tiene dinero: dice que estapelao’, anda piolim y/o anda en la cama de los perrros (Has money)
El panameño no juega: birrea (Plays)
El panameño no saluda: showtea (Greet, from Jamaican English Shout Out)
El panameño no sale: se arranca (Goes out partying)
El panameño no pelea: o se enfrazca o se embolilla y lo mas importante: el panameño nunca pierde unadiscusion porque siempre termina “mandandote pa la porra” (Arguing)
El panameño no es cualquier cosa: es Panameño (A Panamanian is a Panamanian first)
Si eres panameño manda esto a todos tus frenes, a todas tus guiales, a tus viejos, a la banda, etc. etc. etc. Pero mándalo para que todos vean que orgullosamente somos PANAMEÑOS. (Thats a shout out to all the Panamanian Friends, Girls, parents the gang etc. Send the message that we are proudly Panamanians)
Very few tourists ever make it to Darien the large Panamanian province on the border of Colombia. There are good reasons for this as there are still areas close to the border that are dangerous due to Colombian guerilla activity.
However Darien is huge and there are lots of areas that have fantastic history and nature. Panama’s TV channel Telemetro is running a series of videos exploring the sites of Darien. Check them out Expedicion Telemetro en Darien.
They are covering everything from old Spanish fortresses to treasure caves, river dolphins and local culture.
Panama has no shortage of night life web sites documenting the fun that is every single night in Panama. But until now all of them have been in Spanish. So what do you do if your Spanish isn’t all that good (yet) and you want to know where to find the best open bar on a Tuesday night.
Enter Busca Panama the first English language site for whats going on and what went on in Panama City.
I love their Gringo Top 10 tips for Panama:
Taxis: Unless you are going to the airport, dont pay more than $3.00
El Rey: Use it, it is your friend. 24hr liquor sales, $.75 arroz con pollo
Spanish: Let em practice their English on you because they love to do it. Makes em proud
English: Dont be so arrogant to expect that everyone speaks it
Fellas: If she’s too hot to be talking to you, she’s probably from Columbia and on the clock
Ladies: Dont worry, if you cant do the salsa just shake your hips and smile. We love you anyway
Internet: Its pretty much everywhere, and you can call home (unless its Uganda) for less than $.05/minute
Clubs: Open bar (see FAQ) can be dangerous or really annoying, depending on the bartenders
Street vendors: The water is safe to drink, the meat is another story. But hey, if you’re drunk, its all good!
I have tried the 7 year old, and I have to admit I don’t think there is all that much difference between that and the ordinary añejo. However at roughly $4 for the regular and $7 for the 7 year old I guess there’s not much difference in price either.
Before arriving in Panama I was used to Jamaican and Martiniquean aged rums which easily cost 5 times as much in their respective home lands. I could not get over the price of Ron Abuelo. It’s got all the flavor and sophistication of an Appleton 12 year at a fraction of the price.
Every carnaval in Panama has it’s anthem. The song that make people go wild, again and again and again.
After a few years flirting with Puerto Rican Reggaeton Panama has now returned to their roots with Comando Tiburón’s addictive song Vete Pa’ la V****.
I love the song personally with it’s fast paced soca rhythm and everything Comando has yet another winner on his hands. With thanks to Pan Pan for the link.
It has lots of little funny anecdotes contrasting Panama’s past with it’s modern present:
Old Panama City had a cozy, almost familial air to it. Anybody who was anybody was related by blood or marriage. That was brought home forcefully to me on my first visit to the country. I was covering the 1987 riots that eventually led to Mr. Noriega’s downfall, when unbeknownst to me, my future father-in-law, the deputy administrator of the Panama Canal and a man proud of his Sicilian bloodline, asked Panamanian and U.S. military police to give me some rough treatment.
