An art market in a plaza in Panama Vieja
This art market accompanied musical entertainment for the people who came for the monthly lotteria which is held in a different area of town each month. We rarely buy souvenirs for ourselves these days so the only things we brought home besides photos were a woven basket and two tagua seed carvings. Tagua seeds are known as the environmentally friendly ivory. It has a white, extremely hard interior that lends itself well to intricate carvings--and no animals die for their tusks or horns. I'll post photos of these in a later post.
One of many blocks undergoing restoration in Casco Viejo
Many of the charming old buildings already have been remodeled and sold to new residents and in almost every block renovations are underway. I always love the older parts of cities and this is no exception.
Bust of Margot Fonteyn who danced with Nureyev
She married a man from Panama and lived her post career years there. Jose had said we should see the first performance art theater in Panama which is located in the old city. We thought we'd just stop in and take a photo before we continued on our way. When we entered, someone indicated that there was a rehearsal going on. We turned to leave but the guard called to us that it was permitted to go in and watch. What lucky timing! We were able to watch about 30 minutes of the rehearsal in this beautiful theater in the classic style with dark wood--like rich mahogany--boxes and heavy velvet curtains. The ballerinas floated through my mind for the rest of the day.
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