A Panama City neighborhood grapples with the tourist district next door
Sitting on an old, wobbly bench under a flowering Flamboyan tree in Plaza Herrera is a stark contrast to the dominating view of Panama City’s skyscrapers. Red bricks circle a statue of General Tomas Herrera atop a horse at the center of the plaza in Casco Viejo. The square’s edges are lined with white and blue umbrellas, shading tourists from direct hits from the sun. Colonial-style buildings enclose the square on all but one side. Their white facade and iron front porches remind visitors that this is where the Spaniards resettled in 1673 after the pirate Captain Henry Morgan (yes, that pirate) destroyed their initial settlement two years prior.
The Casco Viejo neighborhood is touristy, much like New Orleans’ French Quarters or Puerto Rico’s Viejo San Juan neighborhood. Plaza Herrera feels as though it's on the edge of something. I could feel it as I peered into the open side of the square where the luster of refurbished buildings begins to taper off. Until recently, a large white-cloth sign was visible on this side. Its bold message was in blue, orange and red letters.
EL PAIS SE ESTA VENDIENDO AL MEJOR POSTOR
“The country is being sold to the highest bidder,” Victor Perez translates. “This is how local Panamanians who still live in this area are trying to tell travelers what is really happening here.”
Victor used to work in the American Trade Hotel, a luxury hotel in Plaza Herrera. He left to start his own tour company after growing dissatisfied with travelers who only visit Casco Viejo and assume it to be an accurate depiction of Panama City.
Victor pointed out a large school building, Escuela Nicholas Pacheco, catty-corner to the now-removed sign. What used to be a school is now a temporary home for several families. “They expect the government to build social housing for them,” he said. “Now they are living inside this school.”
From the 1960s through the 1990s, most of Casco Viejo was dilapidated. The neighborhood had long been abandoned by its original wealthy Spanish families. Their descendants opted for Panama City’s suburban high rises instead.
Revitalization efforts in Casco Viejo ramped up in the early 2000s. As investors renovated buildings, poor residents were pushed out.
Panama’s economy has grown with its reinvestment in tourist centers like Casco Viejo. The number of tourists coming to Panama has outpaced many other Central American countries. The government has said tourism development is a priority, with plans to invest more than 175 million in the Casco Viejo area.
Victor and I walked from Plaza Herrera, the edge of Casco Viejo, into El Chorrillo, a Panamanian neighborhood. Many of the residents are Afro-Panamanian, tracing their heritage to waves of migration from Caribbean countries to Panama. Their elder generations built Panama’s major infrastructure, including the Panama canal and the Panama railroad.
Walking through El Chorrillo, Victor was surprised to see garbage trucks collecting trash from dumpsters spilling over with refuse. It had been several weeks since government trucks had picked up garbage in El Chorrillo.
We struck up a conversation with Tony Pender as he sat outside his home. He told us the trucks were privately contracted; a community leader paid for trash pickup because government garbage trucks hadn’t come for weeks.
Tony told us he grew up in what’s now the tourist district.
“About 10-15 years ago, they started migrating all the poor people out of Casco Viejo. So all these new buildings that you see right now, poor people, we used to live there,” said Tony. “But I don’t feel they did it in the correct manner. If you’re going to take me out of where I was born and raised, give me at least a better option of education, or housing. They didn’t take that into consideration. They were just like, hey, you got to go. We sold this house.”
Tony and his neighbors have noticed the increased prices in Casco, feeding the demand of visitors in the tourist district.
“Everything there is very beautiful in Casco Viejo, but the prices are not for locals. They’re designed for tourists. So Panamanians don’t feel comfortable going there when they want to buy goods,” one resident said.
“Even little things like shaved ice,” another neighbor told us. “For local people here, it’s 50 or 75 cents. One day I tried to get shaved ice [in Casco Viejo] and the vendor said two dollars. I said, ‘What?!’ I pay 50 cents for this [in El Chorrillo], but the vendor told me you’re not there now, you’re in Casco.”
Studies correlate this lived experience for people who live near tourist districts. According to research published in the Nebraska Anthropologist, tourism can cause displacement or dispossession of land. Overtourism can increase housing costs for residents and decrease the number of businesses catering to the needs of local people.
What do tourists need to know?
A few moments after posing this question to Tony, his face lit up. “If you want to really help, I would advise you to reach out to the churches in the area, in this red zone area, because those are the ones that work with the community. I can take you to one right now if you want to see?”
Suddenly we were off, walking down the street with Tony in the lead, stopping every few feet to greet his neighbors whom he knows well.
After walking a couple blocks, we made it to his pride in the neighborhood. “The pastor here built this from the ground up,” he said.
I soon learned he meant that literally. The space we were standing in used to be an empty lot. The preacher and other community members erected the building for Fundacion Casa del Rey Jesus themselves, after growing too big to hold service in the small home next door.
Every Tuesdays and Thursdays the nonprofit church gives free lunch to local children. Their outreach programs help at-risk kids and young adults.
“If tourists want to help El Chorrillo, they should support churches like this,” Tony declared.
Victor is also supporting El Chorrillo families and funding his work through his tourism business. He started Local in PTY kids, a nonprofit that provides educational programs for kids growing up in El Chorrillo. He uses 10% of profits from his tours to fund activities for kids.
Victor recommends going beyond the guide books and connecting with local people when visiting Panama. “You have to listen to the local people. That’s how you get to know the country,” he said.
We continued walking through El Chorrillo until we traced its border with the Santa Ana neighborhood. The sounds of drills grew louder until we stood at the base of a construction zone. The concrete structure reached at least 10 stories high, taller than anything around it.
New investment is creeping closer to El Chorrillo’s door. Will it bring affordable housing and other services the neighbors want? Or will it bring a higher price to live, even to enjoy a simple shaved ice?
You can learn more about Fundacion Casa del Rey Jesus on their Instagram page. Their banco general account accepts donations.
Learn more about Victor’s Local in PTY tours here.