Panama Celebrates Independence

Over the next two days, around 150 student, state and civic delegations and bands will parade patriotically along two capital city routes in celebration of Panama’s 107 years of indepence from Colombia.

The independence days celebrations began before dawn on Wednesday with the sounding of a couple hours of horns and drums in the Cathedral Plaza.

The first route will take paraders from Simon Bolivar Park in Casco Viejo, past the Presidency, and on to the former Post Office headquarters on Avenida Balboa.  Fifty-one delegations will march from the Caja de Ahorros on Via Espana to the Sucasa building in La Cresta.  On day two, the delegations will switch routes.

Last year, torrential rains were unable to put a damper on the two days of independence parades.  This year the forecast calls for scattered clouds with a 30 to 60 percent chance of thunderstorms.