La Playa Panama - Volume 12, January 2014 | Page 18

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Panama’s International Fairs
animals, food plants, women in
polleras and men in Panama
hats.

C

horrera International Fair
January 23 – February 3
Chorrera, Panama
The La Chorrera International fair is
one of the biggest agricultural fairs in
Panama. Taking place towards the
end of every January, the fair is
reminiscent of a traditional country
fair. The purpose of the fair is for
farmers from across Panama and
neighboring countries to come
together to buy, sell and trade
livestock
and
agriculture.
A
by-product of the fair is that it also
offers a unique taste of Panama,
from the traditional dances of tipico
and reggaeton to traditional fair
foods.
This year Chorrera will host their
53rd fair from January 23rd to February 3rd. As always the fair will be held
at the grounds near the Pedro Pablo
Sanchez School in La Chorrera.
Each day’s events begin early in the
morning. The days are filled with

Like many fairs, the food is one
of the main attractions for
many. The good news is that
the majority of tasty treats are
available for under a dollar.
Some traditional menu options
include bollos, tamales and carne
palitos.
Bollos pronounced “boyos”
Bollos are traditionally made with
new corn (fresh off the ear). Since
corn is in season in January, the fair
is a great time to try one! Bollos
frescas are made from fresh corn
ground up to make corn milk, which
is mixed with, butter, salt, sugar and
coconut are to create dough. The
dough is then rolled out into a
cylindrical shape and wrapped in the
husk of the corn or a sugar cane leaf.
Once wrapped, the bollos are placed
into boiling water for about 20
minutes before they are ready to
serve.
Bollos can also be made with old
corn (dried corn) when corn is not in
season.
Bollos preñao (pregnant bollos) are
similar to the traditional bollo but with
meat or chicken inside, kind of like a

tamale.
Panamanian tamales
Panamanian tamales are a tradition
around Christmas time. Made with
new or old, tamales are actually quite
different than bollos. Filled with
chicken or pork, tamales are more
savory than sweet and are
sometimes served with a sauce for
dipping.
Panamanian tamales are traditionally
wrapped in ojas de tallo (stem
leaves) or plantain leaves.
Carne Palitos (meat on a little stick)
Carne palitos are a popular street
vendor snack in Panama. Small bite
size pieces of beef or pork are
skewered and cooked on a charcoal
grill. If you like spicy ask for some
salsa picante. Carne Palitos are less
than .50 cents and you can probably
swing a deal if you are buying
multiple.
North American style snacks are also
sold at the fair. Fairgoers can enjoy
hotdogs for .25 cents, hamburgers
for $1.00 and sausages for $2.00.
Wash it all down with some jugo de
cana (cane juice) for only .30 cents a
glass.
For dessert, “algodón de azúcar” or
in English, cotton candy.

JANUARY / ENERO 2014

The fair grounds are large so it takes
awhile
to
explore
everything
available. Along the way you will
stumble upon some children’s rides,
an agricultural section with this years
prized cows and some of Chorrera’s
famous pineapples. The agricultural
section also offers horseback rides
for children.

region of Chiriquí, Panama. In it’s
beginnings the fair was held in the
month of April. The first festival was
held in 1950. Back then the festival
was held only when the community
was prepared for it. Between 1950
and 1969 the Coffee Festival, as it
was called then, was held only four
times (1950, 1957, 1961 and 1969).

Boquete International Flower
and Coffee Fair
January 10 – January 19
Boquete, Chiriqui

On April 9 1970, things changed for
the festival. One day before the
opening of the fifth festival, the
district was affected by severe
flooding in which many residents lost
their homes. The festival would have
to be cancelled that year. Faced with
this adversity, the community of
Boquete pulled together to work on
the following year’s festival, to exhibit
th