The passion, death and resurrection of Christ is being remembered throughout Panama this week with the fervor of the various ethnic and religious communities from literally all parts of the world. In the Panama City/Colón metro area, where a large percentage of the population descends from immigrants, Protestant churches, depending on the denomination, will offer Easter services in Greek, Chinese, Korean, English and Spanish, whereas Roman Catholics (85% of the population) mark the occasion with special services and evening processions in each neighborhood.

In the interior provinces, where Spanish tradition and Roman Catholicism is strong, passion plays are common and are a picturesque opportunity to discover the country’s most deeply-rooted Christian traditions. The passion plays of the town of Pesé, in the province of Herrera, are famous for the quality of their performances. To get there, visitors need to get on the Pan-American Highway by crossing the Bridge of the Americas and drive west some 213 km to the town of Divisa, and turn off south to the Azuero peninsula. Road signs will indicate how to finish the rest of the trip, which should take four hours. A good service of buses to Pesé departs from Gran Terminal de Transporte, located in Albrook.

HOLY WEEK TRADITIONS
Holy Week, especially in the western provinces of Panama, is a time to remember mythical tales, some of which appeared during the colonial period as a means to convince townsfolk to attend mass and relinquish earthly pleasures. Those who dared to perform the simplest of tasks, draw water from a well, for example, were told the water would turn to blood. Interestingly, in this day and age with the Internet found in almost every corner of the country, visitors could still find grandpas advising children not to go to the beach on Good Friday. The consequence? To be turned into a fish.

There exists a large group of the Panamanians that are very devoted to the Christian/Catholic religion. And it’s in that massive section of the populace you have hardcore believers that see this Holy Week thing as their version of carnivals, replacing the hardcore partying for hardcore praying. YEAH!

The parades aren’t as elaborate as those you would normally see during carnival time, but they do the job of celebrating Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection just fine. The festivities are so huge that everyone is in on it: after carnivals it’s very normal to see (both regular and fast food) restaurants pushing their seafood menus, namely fish sandwiches and other assorted goods from the ocean. Increased sales in crosses and other religious paraphernalia are common around this time as well, and the resurfacing of highly devoted Christians pop up on the social radar.

All in all, Holy Week means many things, depending on what type of Panamanian you ask. For some of them it’s an excuse to get away from the trials and tribulations of the city. For others, it is a chance to cleanse their souls from the impurities of both carnivals and the year prior. Even though the topic of religion deserves its own piece, one thing is for sure: even if Christianity is in the overwhelming majority and the only religion that causes traffic jams in Panama when the faith’s followers celebrate, at least there’s room for everyone from other cultures to practice their religions in peace, whether its in reverence to a god or an idea.