Things Panamanians Like

Panamanians like to watch TV but only for specific things. They like the news after work and of course Real Madrid/Barcelona soccer games, but the show they like the most is La Cascara. If you are not familiar with it, La Cascara is a comedy show that pokes fun at Panamanian culture. Actually, it is [...]

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If you are confused about what to give that special Panamanian in your life, here are some good options. 1. Apple products. Panamanians love Apple products because they are modern, from the United States, and hard to find in Panama, but mostly because they come with an Apple sticker which instantly makes an uncool car, [...]

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Despite having their own perfectly good way to say it  in Spanish, Panamanians are passionate about the English phrase “happy birthday.” So much so, that they have converted “happy birthday” into a noun. An appropriate way to use it in a sentence would be, “where are you going tonight for your happy birthday?” or “tomorrow [...]

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Many foreigner readers have emailed over the past few weeks with questions about a word used frequently in our comment section, “rakataca.” While this is not an appropriate word for foreigners to use (using it is similar to the N word), it would be useful if some Panamanians could help out and explain what exactly [...]

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When you have formed a core of Panamanian friends, many of the things they like will be discussed openly: things like winter clothes and preferring cough drops to actual candy. These are what we call ofis or things other Panamanians will agree with using the affirmation “ofi” (short for “oficial”). But for other things, absolute [...]

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It is well documented that Panamanians like to litter. Throwing a can out the window of a car or dropping a plastic wrapper in the street: Panamanians do these things to give jobs to the women in yellow suits who, without trash to collect, might go hungry. Although foreigners usually  see this and complain, for [...]

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According to all major encyclopedias, the dialect of Panama is made up of three distinct categories: traditional Spanish, invented Spanish (see: ahuevao), and hand gestures. This last category, hand gestures, is more important than anything else because it allows Panamanians to really articulate without using new vocabulary. Also popular in Panama is pointing with your [...]

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There are a number of products that survive soley on Panamanian demand: foam shopping bags, car fresheners, fanny packs, Crocs. However all of these pale in comparison to mp3 players (or expensive cell phones) that can play music out loud via external speakers. If you are attending a Panamanian’s birthday party celebrating the age of [...]

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Panamanians really like models. They like parties with models, having friends who are models, getting featured in Ellas as if they were models…etc. To the foreigner, associating with professional beautiful people may not sound like such an unusual thing. But be careful: it is a trap. Every Panamanian between the ages of 12 and 32 [...]

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