Thursday, 21 November 2013
Panamanians celebrate their Independence Day(s) in November
Panamanians celebrate their Independence Day(s) in
November
By
R. Bhakther Solomon
November is a month of
Holidays for Panamanians, the country that probably has the most national
holidays in the world. Independence celebrations mean fireworks, days off,
marching bands and a celebration of traditional customs. Here is a brief
recount of the history behind the most important dates next month.
Sunday, November 3, Separation from Colombia: Panama’s second independence day is actually a separation day. After its independence from Spain in 1821, Panama voluntarily joined La Gran Colombia, a vision of Liberador Simon Bolivar, which included the territories of present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, Western Guyana and North west Brazil.
Tuesday, November 5, Independence in Colon: November
5 day finalise the celebration of separation from Colombia in 1903 and is an
especially important day in Colon.
Independence from Spain: Sunday,
November 10, 1821 a shouting crowd proclaimed independence in the town of La
villa in the province of Los Santos. The event is called The first Cry for
Independence of La Villa de Los Santos.
Thursday, November 28: Panama, tired of
colonial subjugation, breaks ties with the Spanish crown on November 28, 1821.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Friday, 18 January 2013
Friday, 31 August 2012
Monday, 27 August 2012
A visit to Rome & Vatican
A visit to Rome & Vatican
By
R. Bhakther Solomon
Wednesday, the 18th July
2012, started the day from Hotel President (Western) at 9 a.m. to explore the city
of Rome. The first stop was the Colosseum. After two hours of exploration of
the place, became tired, so headed to Centre part of the city, near the main city
station to have lunch. Then headed to Piazza Navona. It was built in 1st
century on the site of the stadium of Domitian, the Piazza follows the open
space of the stadium. In the centre of the Piazza lies the famous Fontana Quattro Fiumi. (Foundation of
the Four Rivers).
Then went sight seeing by bus and enjoyed the one hour crossing all the important landmark sites / buildings of the city. Then at about 4 pm reached Saint Peters Square. Before we went inside Saint Peter’s Cathedral, we headed up to the Dome. We had read this was a very difficult catastrophic climb – 356 (or 340) steps up a very narrow and curved stairwell. The view from the top of the Dome was amazing.
Saint Peter’s Cathedral is the largest
Catholic Church in the world. Well over one hundred years of design and details
went into the structure along with thousands of works of arts. It is almost
disturbingly opulent with gilded moulding and ceilings with mural.
The next day, the first stop was Castle of
Saint Angelo. It had been a fortress and was used to hide Pope during war time.
After this we went shopping. After a tea break, we went to see the Ferrari
Showroom as my son was very particular to visit the showroom. Earlier in Paris,
we had been to Mercedez Benz showroom. While
abroad, we never fail to take food from Mc Donald. We saw the biggest
M-Store in Rome. More than 100 people were lined up at 7.30 p.m. to have the
last meal of the day.
At the hotel, we were advised to avoid
carrying anything in our pockets! Yes,
during our last visit in 2008 my wife’s handbag was snatched by a
person and he soon disappeared from the
scene. Luckily this time, nothing happened in Rome.r
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