Ciudad de las Artes

I got to visit a huge arts center twice in two weekends.  It's an impressive-looking place near the University of Panama and the Metropolitan Park called the "Ciudad de las Artes".  

[Odd language thing: singular, it's "el arte"; plural, it's "las artes".  Slowly, slowly, I learn.]

The stairs leading up to the many entrances of the U-shaped
Ciudad de las Artes. The photo shows only part of the "U",
so I could get the sign in the photo.

The first week we went to this place, we went in error; my friend Jessie wanted to attend a book-launch event in a Ministry of Culture building, of which this place is one.  Once we realized we'd taken the bus to the wrong Ministry of Culture building, I called an Uber to get us to the right place.  However, it was a fortuitous mistake as far as I was concerned, because now I knew how to get to the Ciudad de las Artes, and that's useful information!

The book launch event, with a guitar player, a singer, 
and the two authors of a book of short stories.

The book launch event (not in the Ciudad de las Artes) was a lot of fun.  The book was a collaboration, a collection of short stories all told from the point of view of inanimate objects, written by two authors with very different approaches.  One of them likes kafka-esque stories of mortality and angst; the other loves emotionally uplifting, heartfelt tales of encouragement.  They laughed about how much fun it was to merge their approaches and learn from one another.  There was music, and a reading by a professor of literature and drama, prize giveaways, and food. 

I bought a copy of the book ("Cacofonía de Historias") and had it signed by the two authors, with a dedication to the two readers (me and Jessie).  I'm working my way through the book now, learning lots of new vocabulary, and I'll give the book to Jessie to keep when I'm done.  

The next weekend, I went back to the Ciudad de las Artes with a different friend (Kimberly) to see a temporary archeological exhibit. 

This painting exhibit wasn't what we came to see,
but it was cool.

More beautiful paintings,
which I could buy for $400 or $500 dollars.
I didn't buy any, though.

Panama City impresses me with how many ways they bring the history of their country forward; there's a lot of public education about various cultures who have walked these lands.  This particular 3-day exhibit described the findings of a recent archeological dig in the nearby province of Coclé, excavating the contents of the burial site of "chamanes" (shamans, or spiritual leaders).

This wall gives context;
there's a video monitor at the other end showing
some of the archeologists carefully digging in the grave.

The whole exhibit fit into one airy, well-lit room.  For something that was so brief, it was incredibly well-designed, with lots of helpful signage, guards to protect the contents, and such.

Some display kiosks with smaller items,
so we could see these things from all sides.

The chamanes who were buried belonged to a group of people who did excellent metalwork; there was amazing jewelry.  I didn't take pictures of the breastplate/necklaces made of dog teeth (!!).  But I did take photos of these adorable figurines, which I kind of fell in love with. 

Crocodile and supernatural Vampire Bat.

The signs below these pendants say,

left:  "Pendant in the form of a crocodile. It's mouth, claws, and tail are covered with gold. It raises its tail up, which is not its usual position, although it might indicate the earthly displacement of the animal."

Right.  "Pendant in gold and resin in the form of a supernatural vampire bat. This figure raises a pair of crests marked supernatural. In the symbolic language of ancient America, the vampire bat is associated with menstrual blood, fecundity/fertility of humanity, and the fertility of the Earth."

(in case you want to read the sign for yourself)

Also, these little crocodiles are so smiley, they make me smile, too.

Crocodiles and tusks made from gold-covered whale teeth.

"Zoomorphic earrings/pendants.  These were made the teeth of sperm whales with covers of hammered gold. Two of them are in the form of a tusk and the others in the form of a crocodile."

(again).

On the way back, Kimberly and I stopped off in the mall -- it's right next to the bus terminal where we part ways, and Kimberly likes walking around the mall.  This was in mid-November, but the mall was already decked out with many, many Christmas displays.  Kimberly finds these displays beautiful and lovely.  I myself lament the homogenization of culture, that Christmas spirit even in tropical Panama is somehow associated with pine trees, the limited red-white-green color palette, and fur caps.

And polar bears.  Really? Polar bears?
It's 85 degrees outside this mall,
and raining cats and dogs.

Maybe someday there will be Christmas Crocodiles, grinning their goofy, toothy grins at supernatural Christmas vampire bats. Or maybe the crocodiles and fuzzy polar bears can come together in a collaborative work of two cultures that have very, very different approaches, creating one book together, with songs and readings and prizes and food, dedicated to us all.