Foodie Adventures in Latin America: Panama, part III

While I experienced many of those "OMG, I am really here!" moments during my trip to Panama, the one that surprised me was during a visit to Casco Viejo and the El Mercado del Mariscos (fish market). The above photo shows the view from the market, with the fishing boats infront of the city skyline. Well the reason for my surprise was when I had the feeling that I had seen this market someplace before, and then realized it was on the last season of The Amazing Race! As we walked past the vendors, my friend told me that this was where the chefs from the city come to purchase for their restaurants.

From red snappers to corvina, we saw it all, and I recieved a lesson in how to tell if a fish is fresh or on its way out. The trick is to peek under the gills and hope to see a red color. Also you want to make sure that the eyes are not sunken. The most obvious test of course, is that you never want a fish that has started to smell.

My friend has a serious addiction to ceviche, which is a tapas made of chopped up seafood, onions, spices and perhaps some mayonaise, and sells for $1-$2 per cup. As we drove around the country, I had thought there was only one type...the one made of river shrimp. At the market I realized how wrong I was. The picture above shows one of the many ceviche vendors. There were at least 20 different varieties to sample!

The area surrounding the fish market is one that I have been dying to visit for quite some time. Casco Viejo (the Old Quarter) that was settled after the Old City was destroyed in 1671 by the pirate Henry Morgan. The walled city consists of Spanish colonial architecture from the 16th-17th centuries, and was recently named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. After this happened, money started flowing in via investments, foreign expats and historic preservationists to restore the area.

It is devestatingly beautiful and is undergoing a massive renovation and redevelopment period where buildings are being gutted and restored within a window of 2-3 months. My only issue with this is that the Panamanians who have called this area home are slowly being pushed out. As buildings are purchased for cheap and then sold for millions, obviously the residents will not be able to afford them, and pressure will increase for them to leave. I worry that the next time that I return to Panama, I will not even recognize the area. There is a fine line between restoration / preservation and gentrification. Often times, what seems to be ignored is the fact that an area is special not because of it's location, buildings or history...but because of the PEOPLE, and the culture they imbue into that place.

A project like this can go two ways; complete gentrification and the addition of buisnesses that are completely out of sync with the location such as italian and sushi restaurants in this case, or working with residents to create a sympatico where the local flavor is retained, making concessions for shifting residents into the restored buildings and keeping them in their community instead of pushing them out, creating and allowing buisnesses that retain Panamanian culture and style. Projects like this can be exciting, but also dangerous. Sadly, I hear my friend's words of wisdom ringing in my ears. Whomever controls the money in Panama will control its future. I am keeping my fingers crossed for when I return.