Who are the people of Panama? Who lives in Panama?

The people of Panama are a very unique mix of many different cultures and races from all over the world.  It has one of the most racially and culturally diverse mixes in all of South and Central America. 

 

First we have 7 different original Indigenous tribes here in Panama.  The Ngöbe, the Bugle, the Guna (formerly known as Kuna), the Emberá, the Wounaan, the Naso (aka Teribe) and the BriBri.  All together the indigenous population make up 10% of the 3.3 million...

The people of Panama are a very unique mix of many different cultures and races from all over the world.  It has one of the most racially and culturally diverse mixes in all of South and Central America. 

 

First we have 7 different original Indigenous tribes here in Panama.  The Ngöbe, the Bugle, the Guna (formerly known as Kuna), the Emberá, the Wounaan, the Naso (aka Teribe) and the BriBri.  All together the indigenous population make up 10% of the 3.3 million inhabitants of Panama.  Each tribe has their own unique cultures, traditions and languages. 5 out of the 7 have government recognized Comarcas (reservations, but on their traditional home territories) and are autonomous but can take part in Panama government and social systems like health care and education. 

 

Next, 500 years ago we had the Spanish explorers and close on their heels were other European explorers and pirates (lot's of fun history around that) The majority of the Panamanians are descendants of these Spanish explorers and settlers or are a mix of European and indigenous mix. 

 

About 150 years ago when the US was building the railroad across the isthmus of Panama to connect the shipping routes from California and the west coast to the US east coast (again interesting history around the railroad, as in those days it was safer to send the California gold rush gold across Panama by train and ship it to NY than it was to cross the open and undeveloped plains of the US wild west)  the Americans brought in many Chinese people to build the railroad.  There is now a large and thriving Chinese population in Panama and they own almost every mini super (local convenience) stores around the country as well as many other successful businesses.

 

When the US started building the canal they brought in many workers from the Caribbean, specifically Barbados and other islands, of African descent.  (Again a lot of interesting history around all of this, too.)  So now, there is a very large Afro-Caribbean descent population which is mixed in well with the average population.  There are some areas that are more strongly influenced by these people, such as Colon, Portobelo and Bocas del Toro.

 

Of course, there are many Americans whose families came to work on the canal and when the US handed back the canal to Panama in 1999, many of these Americans who were born and raised here, consider it home and never left.  These people are referred to as zonians as they originally lived in the former US Panama Canal Zone.

 

As Panama developed into a major Latin American business and financial center, there has been many people of Jewish persuasion moving here to invest in local businesses.  From all or most of the different Jewish sects are represented here.

 

In Panama city and Colon, with the opening of the Colon Free Trade Zone (the 2nd largest duty free trade zone in the world) there are many business owners of East Indian and Arabic descent.

 

More recently, with Panama creating the Retirement visa incentive there are many North Americans and some Europeans who have chosen Panama as a perfect place to retire full or part time.  So Panama is a very multi-cultural, multi-racial place where it is very common place to see people from all walks of life on the streets. 

 

 

Panama has many diverse cultures.  This memorial identifies nine different cultures from all over the world that populated Panama probably starting with the Spanish Conquistadors and the Chinese who came to Panama to help build the Panama Railroad in the 1850 to transport '49ers from the Atlantic (Caribbean) side of the isthmus who arrived on ships to the Pacific side to continue their ship ride to the gold fields in California and Alaska.  Later West Indians...

Panama has many diverse cultures.  This memorial identifies nine different cultures from all over the world that populated Panama probably starting with the Spanish Conquistadors and the Chinese who came to Panama to help build the Panama Railroad in the 1850 to transport '49ers from the Atlantic (Caribbean) side of the isthmus who arrived on ships to the Pacific side to continue their ship ride to the gold fields in California and Alaska.  Later West Indians and others came to Panama to help build the Panama Canal.  This memorial is located in Amador near the Yacht Club & Country Inn & Suites / TGI Fridays.  Don't forget a Sunday "trago" (senor beverage) at the Yacht Club at sunset.  *Ü*

There are a lot of different people in Panama, which is truly one of the most international countries in the world that I have ever visited or lived. Having lived in New York and traveled around the world, I would say that Panama is a real melting pot of different cultures and people from all over the world. There are people who grew up here and have been here for generations who have a Chinese background or an Indian background, etc.

 

There is a very well developed...

There are a lot of different people in Panama, which is truly one of the most international countries in the world that I have ever visited or lived. Having lived in New York and traveled around the world, I would say that Panama is a real melting pot of different cultures and people from all over the world. There are people who grew up here and have been here for generations who have a Chinese background or an Indian background, etc.

 

There is a very well developed international scene here in Panama. Then there are the local oligarchs, who are the ruling class and their families, folks who have been around from the founding of Panama. Those are the politicians and the business owners who live in places like Paitilla and who manage a lot of money. A lot of us are in the merchant class, whose members may have a business in the Colon Free Zone, or own one of the retail outlets that you will find throughout the country.

 

We have the expat crowd, which is also very vibrant. There are so many people here from Canada, England, the US, and from other countries that now you have communities in different parts of town where people get in touch through the Internet. That adds another layer to the mix. We also have the working class Panamanians, which is about 99% of the population and which would include the indigenous population and the people who just work the 9 to 5 jobs. That class is where you will see the poverty and the subsistence level people. Panama is a mix of different cultural, national, and economic backgrounds, but they all coexist in one place.

 

(La Grania, an agricultural and ecotourism park in the province of Colon, pictured above.)

Panamanians are mostly mestizos, which is a combination of Spanish and Indian. We are also influenced by the Caribbean migration when the canal was built, as well as the Chinese at one point in time and the different European ethnicities as well. There were also a lot of Spanish migrations during the Spanish civil war in 1975.
 
Recently, we are receiving a lot of migration from Colombia and Venezuela, in part because of the political problems that they have in these countries....

Panamanians are mostly mestizos, which is a combination of Spanish and Indian. We are also influenced by the Caribbean migration when the canal was built, as well as the Chinese at one point in time and the different European ethnicities as well. There were also a lot of Spanish migrations during the Spanish civil war in 1975.
 
Recently, we are receiving a lot of migration from Colombia and Venezuela, in part because of the political problems that they have in these countries. For example, Venezuelans who have moved or have invested in Panama are mostly the middle or higher classes that weren’t happy with the regime in Venezuela.  This has brought interesting possibilities to Panama.
 
So if you come to Panama, it is very interesting because the mix of people here is very different than other countries in the area. For example, if you go to Costa Rica or Nicaragua or Colombia, you will find much more homogenous population than you will in Panama. The population in Panama is now very cosmopolitan and diverse, with many higher end foreigners, which are widely valued and who add different ethnicities and cultural aspects to our country.

 

(Venezuelans protest  possible presence of Venezuela's president attendance at Panama president's inauguration, pictured.)

The locals in Panama have their roots from Africa, France and Spain. When they constructed the Panama Canal, Chinese, Indians and Europeans came to Panama. My last name is supposed to be from France. I do not look like a French woman. There’s also no French people from my family. Before the Europeans came, there were local indigenous people.
 
These indigenous people still remain in Panama. There are different tribes and groups. An example are the Embera, who live in...

The locals in Panama have their roots from Africa, France and Spain. When they constructed the Panama Canal, Chinese, Indians and Europeans came to Panama. My last name is supposed to be from France. I do not look like a French woman. There’s also no French people from my family. Before the Europeans came, there were local indigenous people.
 
These indigenous people still remain in Panama. There are different tribes and groups. An example are the Embera, who live in Darien, an almost completely undeveloped area in the far east part of Panama, bordering Colombia. There are the Kuni Yala in San Blas. They live in a tribal area and tend not to mix or intermarry with the Panamanians. The indigenous people have their own laws in their own provinces.  
 
Panamanians are a mix of Spanish, because Spain was the first to colonize Panama.   There are also some Americans. We are a mix of nationalities and races.  

 

(Jesahely De Janon, native Panamanian, pictured.)