(Panamacascoviejo) When you say you are from “el patio” in Panama (which literally means from the “backyard”) you are saying you are a local. “Los Del Patio” is a theatre and dance space that is just opening (formally, since they`ve already started theatre courses for kids ) at Calle 3era, next to the National Theatre at Panama`s 338 year old Colonial City (Casco Viejo).
Their debut is tonight, and will feature an art show by Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker. The show is called “Videogames”. Nothing to do with Mario Bros or World of Warcraft! It is a collection where the hands of both artists play with left over construction materials from Casco Viejo, Bella Vista and Diablo (former Canal Zone). They wanted to create awareness about how memory is lost when a site is transformed.
I`m glad they are bringing this to the table as it is a simple truth. I see it every day, when people come to Casco, their memories of what used to be there are linked to the building itself. In our case, we are lucky: our preservation laws force developers to keep the fasade, so a memory remains. Other sites in Panama, such as Bella Vista (which still has a handful….but only a handful of historic buildings) are lost forever. Even when you force your memory to go back and remember the place as it used to be, something gets really blurry and confusing.
The art show is about the collective memory of the City of Panama. So go take a look tonight! Calle 3era and Central Avenue, 7:30 p.m.
Theatre and Dance Space Calle 3