Tropiland

Water shortage n the Azuero Peninsula is now in full force. This inherently dry region (also called the Dry Arc of Panama) is now experiencing an intense drought, amplified by El Nino and its adverse effect on all natural aquifers.

With the traditionally driest  months still ahead (March, April, May), Azuero residents and cattle farmers are now pleading for immediate help.

The urgency is evident and the potential losses in agricultural production are expected in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not to mention the adverse effects of lack of water on the local business and tourism sectors.

Azuero has been tip-toeing around complete devastation due to intense droughts for a number of years now. IDAAN’s (Panama’s agency responsible for the country’s water grid) water sources and treatment plants in the area are obsolete and arguably inadequate to support the increasing water demand, both due to recent development and agricultural expansion. This year’s El Nino effect has exposed all “bottlenecks” in the water sourcing and distribution systems.

The question that comes to mind then is: How can Panama expect to move forward as an up-and-coming economical and touristic powerhouse in Central America if it can not accommodate such a basic need as water?

Someone in the Martinelli administration had better do something about it before Azuero’s agricultural (and tourism) potential is “died up”.

Photo: Courtecy of Olmedo Carrasquilla

The party starts with the crowning of this year’s Festival del Manito Queen, Yaharia Saez at the inauguration on Thursday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m. at the Fairgrounds in San Sebastian. The festivities will include folklore presentations, regional dances, song and dance. On Friday, August 14, youth contests will begin at 2:00 p.m. in different categories like playing the “mejorana” (a small guitar) and the “tambor” (drums), girls dancing in the “Montuno” style Pollera dress and the traditional old childrens’ game display, like riding pretend horses. At 7:00 p.m., six or seven citizens who have stood guard over “folkloric values” will be honored with the Dr. Rodrigo Nuñez Quintero Medal, followed by a cultural display.

On Saturday, August 15, the “Public Country Wedding” will take place at 10:00 a.m., a real wedding after which a couple rides out of the church on a horse. They are followed by the multitude to go to the fairgrounds, where delicious local food (sancocho, lechona, dulce de leche) is waiting. Music and dancing, of course, are in order. At night, the “Tamarindo Duel” takes place, with 30 actors participating in the recreation of a battle between two young men for a young lady’s heart.

The big parade is at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. Over 45 schools from the surrounding areas and even the capital city participate to recreate a grand folkloric display. The main features are “Working Countrymen” who pay homage to those who stick with tradition and work the land and the “Sick Man in a Hammock”, an act which pays tribute to the way sick people used to be transported when there were no cars. The colorful “Diablicos” of Los Santos and Chitre as well as many beautiful ladies in Pollera dresses will be in the parade as well.

Throughout the Festival, three venues will be open with different musical offerings and activities. The are the Jardín Flores del Tamarindo, Jardín Viva Panamá and the Atlas “Toldo”, or stage.

Ocú can be reached by express bus, leaving from the National Transportation Terminal in Albrook (schedules and pricing 974-1395) or by car. The turnoff to Ocú from the Pan American Highway is to the left ten kilometers after the Divisa turnoff to Chitre and Las Tablas as one comes from Panama City and to the right 20 kilometers past Santiago when coming from Chiriquí. Lodging is likely to be sparse in Ocú. But plenty of rooms will be available in the surrounding cities of Santiago and Chitré.

Source:PanamaVisitor

The president of the National Association of Cattlemen of Los Santos, Luis Martínez, confirmed yesterday the deaths of more than 200 cattle as a result of the drought plaguing the Azuero region.

The highest incidents of mortality are concentrated in the district of Macaracas, where an estimated 90 percent of the streams are dry and the rivers are 65 percent below their normal levels.

Livestock deaths have been reported in the communities of El Corozal, El Cedro, Las Palmas, Llano de Piedras, Macaracas cabecera, Villa Lourdes, Las Guabas and Las Cruces.

Raúl Escobar, who represents the district of Las Palmas, said many of the deaths have occurred in the last two weeks. Many of the animals have died after becoming entangled in fences while trying to find water.

Farmers said that the area normally relies on water from the La Laja Dam during dry season, but a lack of dredging has diminished the capacity of the reservoir, which was built in 1970.