The Joys of Semana de Campasinos

I am lucky enough to serve in the Azuero. It is Hotbed of culture.  We are always having pageants, tipico dances, Pollera( traditional dress) shows, and my other cultural activities. Once a year my town has a huge festival celebrating the founding of our beloved town. The town transforms from a calm village to a vibrant party town. The village soccer field transforms into a Campo multiplex of entertainment. We have a bull ring, where rodeo shows are held. Wooden planks are bought in to create a dance floor for a disco/taborito hall. There are even make shift restaurants ( fondas) selling Panamanian dishes.  A buzz settles over the entire community as people ready themselves for the festivities. Under bare bulbs and moonlight costumes are being sewn, dances are being practiced, and allot of Seco and Ron Abuelo are being drunken.

Friday

                The days of celebration starts Friday night with Tamborito. Tamborito involves both call and response singing and dancing in a circle. A choir of women stands in a cluster while men drum at their sides. A circle is formed with community members. Everyone is either clapping or singing. Then a brave woman jumps into the center of the circle. Her head held high and hands at her side. She dances unaffected in a series of circles as campasino men jump and cry around her. A man jumps in the circle and dips around the coolness of the dancing woman. There is an icy hot sense of sexuality in this dance yet it is not vulgar. Children and grandparents join into the dancing. After some trepidation, I too jump into the circle. At first I close my eyes trying hoping my footing is fitting into the complex precision and singing around me. Then I loosen up and lose myself in a flurry of claps, spins, and dips. Cheers and Salimars fill my ears at the men at the party jockey and mock fight to partner with me and then just like that I retreat into the waiting embraces of the village women. They all laugh and say I dance better than them. I’m pretty sure this is a lie but I did my best to mimic their footwork. We dance and sing well into  the night and early morning. There is something so transcendent about tamborito. The African influence is obvious to me and there is such a power when people join together in a circle and create. Throughout the night there are many moments of fleeting perfection. I’ve tried to capture some of the magic through video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onywUQKZjW0

Saturday

Today was the first full day of celebration. Semana de Campasinos was in all its glory. There were Bull rides and rodeos. Cowboys and some brave men from my village jumped at and taunted bulls while men tried to ride them. The whole town was enamored with the show of classic Machismo. Machismo and manhood are very important to my community. Men competed with each other all day to see whom could be the most brave, drink the most alcohol, and dance with the most ladies. Men serenaded me with songs pledging their undying love for me ( a near stranger) and then serenaded other women in the crowds. They jockeyed for the chance to buy the ladies sodas and treats from the fonda. They paid for all the entrance fees for women wanting to dance in the discoteque. It was really interesting to see what constitutes a “Good man” in my culture vs. what makes a man a “Good man” in the states but that is a whole other post. For today, I enjoyed being doted on and spent the night and early morning dancing to Tipico, Salsa, and regaton music.

Sunday

My Tio and I in our Campo wear

                Today was THE day. Sunday was the day when everyone showed up and showed out. There were traditional costumes, floats, a band, a party van blaring music, and lots of happy people. I dressed up as a Congo woman complete with head dress. That day there was to be a huge parade complete with floats at 3pm. Yet I saw or heard no talk off float preparation. I had no idea how my community was going to pull this off. 3pm came and went with no floats yet at 4pm I heard the band start up and oxen pulling a large float. It was intricately decorated with symbols of life in the campo. Antique water jars, drums and flowers filled the platform. In the middle was my friend in a glorious Pollera with beautiful beads in her hair. It was breathtaking. This show of creativity and innovation was repeated multiple times while my community and I followed the floats laughing and dancing. 

                The most incredible part of the day was how the creators acted. There were no meltdowns no screaming and everyone was cool and calm. They created their art and presented without pretention and seemingly without anxiety which I was in awe of and inspired by. I hope that the photos and videos below flesh out the picture of the Semana de Campasino experience.

                                                              

Seco break

Traditional Pollera

My whole town was ready to party

A great float

One of my favorite floats

Taking in the festivites

Lil man in his Campasino wear

A father cross dressing for the day. His wife exclaimed, "El es un Gay"

Much love,

Tempest 

The Legend of El Nigga

The hot studio lights mixed with the fear of failure as the middle aged Asian man stood at the podium. His daughter was on the Hit talent contest “Canta Conmigo” and the only thing that stood in the way of his child advancing with gifts and cash prizes, was his ability to get this one answer about pop culture correct.

                        Who is the artist who appeared in the music video with Jonesith?

A)   El Nigga

B)   Makano

C)   Eddy Lover

The Man gazed  blankly as only middle-aged people who are asked about tween pop music acts can.   

“El Nigga” said the Man.

He was wrong. 

I was on the floor totally confused.

Tons of Questions flew around my brain.

            Why was this artist named Nigga?

            Was he a rapper?

            Was he even Black?

            Did he make American style hip-hop?

            Is watching a middle aged Asian father use the word Nigga the funniest and most awkward occurrence on Television…in the history of Television?

I was so confused. As an avid Hip-hop lover and as an African American I am no stranger to the “N word”.  I hear it all the time. The word has been used by my great aunts at the dinner table, used by me and the majority of my friends as a pronoun, and used by hip hop artist and R&B singers.  The word also has more insidious uses as well. Classmates from her private school called my little sister, Nigger while she ice-skated. I was called a “Nigger B**ch” by a roommate during a discussion about gas usage. My Ancestors know what it was like to be spit on, excluded, and sometimes even killed while their oppressors used the word. At its worst, the Word “Nigger” and some would argue “Nigga” has been used to strip Afro decedents of their humanity.  At its best, its word that has been ripped from the hands of those who used it as a weapon, stripped of its negative power, and used by the people it was meant to make powerless. It has been turned by some into a piece of music, a joke, or at its basic level a word. Of course I have friends who are Black and refuse to use the word based on its history and the pain associated with it.

            Imagine then my surprise when a non-American artist takes this complicated and loaded word as his Stage Name!  It was very surreal to see a person so divorced from the history of that word or the place that birthed that word using it so casually. I immediately did some research on the music of “El Nigga”.   I was sure that I would hear posturing about living in the hood al la Meek Mills or Rick Ross.  Imagine my surprise when I actually heard his songs.

            He is the leader of a style of Spanish Reggae called “Romantic Style”.  He basically makes sappy love songs to a break /Ski beat. Which makes the whole name even stranger. His light complexion was confusing. In the African American community, you can be dark ebony or so pale cream with blue eyes and straight hair. No matter your complexion, hair texture, or features if you have African ancestry in the U.S. you are looked at as a Black person. I have had many conversations about race and social justice and many people, who could essentially “pass” for White, proudly proclaim their Blackness.

            It is very different here in Panama. Complexion in many circles determines your race. Elders in my village have told me of their children. One would be Moreno like me and the other would be Blanco (White).  2 children born to the same parents can be different races. People who would be considered Light skin or Carmel colored in the states are considered white. EL Nigga is the color of butterscotch when he is tan and lighter otherwise. He may come from Afro Decedents but on surface he isn’t Moreno. Which makes his taking up the Moniker “El Nigga” even weirder. 

            I sat really conflicted on what to feel about this artist and his strange name. I spoke to people in my community about the history of the word here in the United States. It was not until I had a talk to my Regional leader (Peace Corps Volunteer who organizes and helps other PCVs in a certain region of the country) about El Nigga that I was able learn more about this Artist and his history.

            It turns out that his cousin lives in my town and that El Nigga is actually from my Region!  The cousin and all of Azuero (My Region) are very proud of him. It turns out that his “Romantic Style” is in direct reaction to more hardcore and violent music. This music came about after the U.S. Led invasion that killed over 5,000 civilians and decimated whole neighborhoods in the late 80’s. Once prosperous regions were reduced to ghettos. Their Black, Brown, Poor inhabitants had an influx of American weaponry, no central government or police, and no job opportunities.  As you could imagine this turned into a very violent place. Inhabitants took their frustrations about the system and the hard life they were living in rap flavored reggae tracks. These tracks were nihilistic in their view and fairly violent.  Misogyny was also rampant. Which makes sense if you think about U.S. Service men, poverty, and sex work during that time. El nigga began to make music in this environment. He made music to make women feel wanted and valued. He eschewed violence and instead talked about positivity and steeped his music in the Afro-Panamanian tradition of Tamborito.  It turns out that although he divorced from American history of the Nigger/Nigga, he steeped in his own Afro Latino culture.  This really helped me have a more evolved since of El Nigga and what he is trying to do. I still think his music sounds a bit hokey and in the U.S. he goes by the name DJ Flex…because he is not stupid I imagine. What do you guys think about El Nigga?  The name, music, and man?

Here is a sampling of his work:

The Wild Ones

Have you ever seen horses dance to Tipico music?  How about a seeing a bull charge for you only separated by a few bars? These were just a few of the adventures I experienced last Saturday. 

            The day started with an invitation from Oni and her husband to accompany them to a concert. My favorite Panamanian band Sammy y Sandra were performing.  I am a huge music lover and back home went to concerts religiously.  It looked like my 2 years of Peace Corps service would be without many concerts so I jumped at the chance to attend. Oni and her husband Fidel pilled their 2 children, an uncle, an aunt, a grandma, and me in a car originally meant for 5 people. Oni and I shared a seat, which was quite a feat. As we drove through the countryside, lush hills and quaint towns became a blur. We pulled into a long drive and pulled up to a stone gate. Oni paid our fare and we entered. Right away it was like a circus. My eye could not figure out which amazing thing to take in first. There were chicken fights, a bullfight with lots of people leaning on a gate waiting for the bull to charge them. The smell of delicious fried food hung in the air. There was a full band. None of this could however, match the stunning beauty of the dancing horses.

“Boom do dam do dam boom” Played the band in the Tipico beat. The Horses lifted their hoofs to time and dipped and bowed. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

The bull fight was crazy. The Bull slamed against the fence not a foot away from me. I had to jump back and almost ran into a dancing horse! Here are some shots of the Bull Fight:

As the sunset, the campground really got live. The Men had a section for gambling while others battled out Salimar songs. The food and drink flowed. The night was cool and I enjoyed the time hanging with my friends and dancing with Oni’s Mother. After 4 hours of waiting, my favorite band Sammy y Sandra took the stage.  Sandra has an amazingly rich voice and loves to dance. She does allot of hip gyrations and wears crazy clothes. Sort of like a non-awful Nicki Minaj. That night she had on a lime green mesh dress that stopped just short of her jewels. The dress was totally see through save for sporadically spaced crystals.  Oni’s husband was drunk and made a great effort to go up on the stage and talk to management about me. They ended up shouting out me at the “North Americana par alla (Over there)” He then tried to get me to dance with her in front of no less then 3 thousand people. I was mortified. I begged him not too and he settled on making me go on stage and take pictures with the band. That wasn’t so bad.  It was not only a concert but also a baile, which is a Dance.  Thousands of couples paired up to dance Tipico. Tipico dancing is very strange to me. It looks as if all the couples our wound up pieces in a music box. The tops of their bodies stay completely straight and their feet move about clumsily and at high speed. Most of the night is spent bumping into other people. It is so counter to how I dance. I dance with my hips and butt while swaying my arms. This makes Panamanians declare me an amazing dancer. Even the star of the night commended me on my moves.  I danced a little Tipico but denied the men who came up to me and said “Hey Morena come here and dance with me”.  I danced with Oni and her husband. Fidel lost it on the dance floor. He began to jump all over the place with his arms outstretched and a broad smile on his face.  At one point of the night there was a Machete fight that broke out. This is fairly common here and was quickly dealt with. I don’t think anyone died.  It was such a beautiful night. I didn’t get home until 2 in the morning!  

here is some video of Sammy y Sandra playing my favorite song. 

Elders

I adore Elders. They are my favorite group of people next to babies. At their best they are full of wisdom and have a freedom to express themselves that comes from a lifetime of not being able to say what you want. During my Peace Corps service, it has been the elders who have gone out of their way to welcome me. They teach me about natural medicine. They laugh at my name. They show me their scars from recent operations. Sometimes they say nothing and we just sit on their porch for an hour or 2. I have made a photographic essay on the people I treasure.

The Elders:

A very fly elder.

My host grandpa chilling with his radio

Elder with flowers

Goddess

Teaching me about about a medicinal plant used to fight diabetes. 

Grandma and Grandson

Stoic Elder

This elder is 90 years old and still loves to visit friends. This is him and his favorite hat.

Elveka and one of my favorite Elders,

Oni with her mother. 

Evelka with her grandma who is also a medicine woman.

Elder Swag. Although he is in his 60's he is single. Tell your grandma's :)

Peace Corps Swear in

On march 14th I swore in as a official Peace Corps Volunteer. After 2 and half months it was a huge celebration. After a year deferment and almost another year of waiting I was finally an official Peace Corps Volunteer.  Here are some photos of me and my friends. All shots of me were taken by my great friend fellow PCV Felipe from North Carolina.

My great friends Felipe and Rebecca. Such an amazing team and volunteers. Rebecca wrote a beautiful speech on behalf of the CEC sector and spoke in front of many higher ups in government. She spoke in perfect Spanish! 

My "Aunt" and I.  Sarah is such wonderful friend. She is serving with indigenous communities in The Darien.

My family and I. We were part of the same clan during training. They held me down.

I was so happy! 

My friend Adrians. She is so full of light. She is serving in Veraguas.

Emily and Sally from Texas! Both amazing women.

My sis Stephanie from Miami. Wonderful woman in the Teaching English sector.

Sarah

One of my best friends. Tom from the DMV. He is a fool! So funny and a great volunteer.