So forgive me if I’m a bit excited. All of Panama is preparing it self. Carnival starts tonight with the Coronation of the Carnival Queen. After that it is 5 days and nights of non stop partying in the City.

While I can normally keep up with the best of them, I’m not entirely sure I can handle 120 hours of straight Seco (White Cane Spirit), Ron Carta Vieja (My favorite) and dancing to the latest Reggae, Soca and Merengue.

This will be my first carnival here and I will definitely chill out and not get too in to the spirit, if for nothing else for monetary reasons.

The main center of the Carnival in the city is the very long and very wide Via España, whch is less than 5 minutes walk from my apartment. I’ve been promised that I wont be able to sleep anyway do to the 24 hour music going on that close.

So what is it supposed to be like. I have no idea except that I know I will be soaked in water nonstop, have confetti thrown in my eyes and probably forced to down much rum.

The party kit here consists basically of T-shirts and shorts as well as various kind of excercise bottles converted to rum duty.

Many people outside of Latin America doesnt know this but Reggae is virtually the national music of Panama. It’s all in Spanish and a bit different than Jamaican reggae. Fortunately just like Jamaican Dancehall it’s got a kickin base that gets everybody moving.

The other big music is Soca (just like in Trinidad, but in Spanish) which is always excellent for dancing and Merengue. Merengue is often mixed with Reggae and Hip Hop, such as the latest big hit out of Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico thats called Kulikitaka. This song is so infective that I know I’m going to be singing it my head way past getting tired of it.

I’ll attempt to bring my camera and take pictures. Assuming it doesn’t get too wet.