Today, we started the morning by traveling through time. First, we visited three different museums before our final return to Mr. Trujillo’s house. Our first visit was Museum Manuel F. Zárate. Here we learned all about La Mejorana as a traditional celebration in Guararé. But this museum is more than a place to gather local memories; instead, it is a national monument of the Panamanian folklore. Here we had the opportunity of seeing instruments, clothing, and books published about local folklore. During our visit, we had the opportunity of being guided by Pancho, our dance instructor.
Our second visit was museum Belisario Porras located in Las Tablas. This museum is dedicated to him because of his life dedicated to building Panama as a nation. We learned that his life was based on the idea that education was the best path toward success. He studied in Panamá in the late 19 century; also, he adventures in Europe, mainly Belgium and Italy. In this manner, Belisario Porras was able to bring to Panama many political ideas that were considered progressive during this period. Our guide, whose name I can’t remember, constantly kept saying “that is a good question”. However, I am certain that my questions weren’t good at all, but certainly, he was bringing dignity to my interest; therefore, I wanted to learn more.
Our third visit, which was about 10 minutes away from Las Tablas, was to El Pausílipo. El Pausílipo is in Las Tablas Abajo, near Las Comadres Beach. This museum was the vacation home of Belisario Porras. The house still has roof tiles, walls made of mud, and wood. Its name originates from one of the hills that surrounded Naples. As our two guides mentioned, the original Pausilipo in Naples, Italy, “was the place Virgil was buried”. This makes sense, for someone like Belisario Porras who had dedicated his life to learning and traveling, then, it would make sense to see similarities between one place and another.
Then, in the afternoon, we returned to visit Mr. Trujillo, our leather craftmanship instructor. He did his best to assist us all with each of the projects, but we still couldn’t finish them all. Soon, we will have to return to visit Mr. Trujillo, we need our belts, bracelets, wallets, and purses. For some of us, just like a museum, we wish we could go back in time so that we can avoid making some of the mistakes done when working on leather. However, that is impossible, we must go on, and get the most out of this experience. Thank you to our four guides during our visit to three different museums, and to Mr. Trujillo for his extraordinary support and enthusiasm.
-Patricio
Click here to see photos of our day