Capturing the Soul of a City

Photograph of two Diablos Rojos arriving at a bus stop of El Dorado Shopping Center in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A couple of days ago I posted a blog entry about a promising new transportation project called Metro Bus. This public transportation project will place Panama amongst the most advanced cities in Central America as far as public transportation is concerned.  Approximately 1,500 new buses will replace the fleet of obsolete buses known as Diablos Rojos which are falling apart while transiting through the streets of Panama City, Panama.

Richard, an excellent blogger of One More Good Adventure, read the post and suggested that the new buses should be painted with the same brightly colored themes of the old Diablos Rojos, in an effort to keep the soul of the city.  Failing to do so  would provide Panama with a fleet that would look exactly like the ones in Miami or any other American city—plain and simple.  Picturesque buses which are currently a tourist attraction, would be replaced by boring looking buses.  A lose-lose decision.  This is what he wrote  in his blog:

Yesterday my friend Omar who writes the blog Lingua Franca had a post about the demise of the colorful buses, Diablos Rojos, that rule and terrorize the streets of Panama City, Bidding Goodbye to the Diablos Rojos  of Panama.

I wrote the following comment:

I hear you, Omar, about the need to modernize and improve on the urban transportation system in Panama City, but the disappearance of the Diablos Rojos will be another step in the homogenization of the city into another bland, characterless place on a map. They give the city, and the country, a dash of color. A zestfulness that makes the city unique. Take that away and what have you got? A bunch of high-rise buildings nearly indistinguishable from Miami, Casco Viejo which, to me, is reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans or the Battery in Charleston, South Carolina.

As wonderful as a new fleet of buses will be, they certainly aren’t going to go any faster on Via España during rush hour.

New, modern, air-conditioned buses are definitely needed, but I think they should be painted up just like the Diablos. It they aren’t then I think Panama has lost a little bit of its vibrant soul and the country and its people will be a little poorer for it.

He immediately agreed with me saying:

Your idea of painting the new buses like Diablos Rojos is a wonderful idea. Panama Tourist Bureau could organize a contest for this creative project, making Panama the only country in the world where buses are folk paintings in motion.

I think you just hit the nail right in the head. I would suggest writing to the Panama Tourist Bureau, since the Minister has a direct access to President Martinelli. He was the campaign manager of Martinelli.

He understands marketing very well, and the unique buses would be a major tourist attraction. How about writing a blog about this idea? I will start tomorrow spreading the word. You could do the same with your blog as well. Maybe we could get Don Ray’s cooperation. He’s a highly respected person in Panama.

I am sending the following letter:

I apologize for writing this in English but I don’t feel my Spanish is adequate enough to express what I wish to say.

There is little doubt that the public transportation system in Panama City needs to be modernized and it’s great that the outmoded Diablos Rojos are being taken off the street. However, the loss of color and vibrancy they lend to the streets of the city should not be taken lightly. They give Panama City a zest that contributes greatly to its vitality. What would the streets of London, England, be like without its red, double-decker buses? Paris without the Eiffel Tower? New York City without the Statue of Liberty?

Replacing the Diablos Rojos with modern generic buses will make Panama City nearly indistinguishable from Miami, Florida, as a hot and humid place with high-rise buildings and everyone speaking Spanish in the streets. If you Google “Diablos Rojos” you find 491,000 hits for the term, and the images section shows 62,400 results though not all of them are for buses.

For years one of the iconic images of the city of New Orleans was the Saint Charles streetcar. While it was a major tourist attraction it was more than that. It was a mode of transportation for a sizable portion of the city’s population. When the city decided to install more routes for street cars they wisely chose to make the new trolley cars look like the old ones actually adding to the character of the city.

I think Panama City would be well served if the new, modern and much-needed buses were to be painted up in the tradition of the current Diablos Rojos. Doing so would accomplish several things: it would preserve a cherished local tradition, it would continue to be something tourists delight in besides the Canal, and it would also provide employment to the wonderfully creative artists who decorate today’s fleet of buses.

Losing this colorful part of the fabric of Panama City is to cut away part of its vibrant soul and the city, the country and its people will be a little poorer for it.

Omar agrees and we are on a campaign to get the new buses painted like the old ones. If you agree with us, send your own letter to: Mr. Salomón Shamah, Minister of the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (Panana Tourist Authority).  His e-mail address is:  gerencia@atp.gob.pa.  Phone number  (507) 526-7110.  Fax:  Fax: (507) 526-7111.

If you live in Panama and agree with our idea, we encourage you to write a similar e-mail to Mr. Shamah supporting the project.  If enough support is generated, it’s very possible that Richard’s idea will materialize making Panama the only city in the world with this kind of Panamanian folk paintings in motion.  Even if you don’t live in Panama and would like to join the band wagon, please send your e-mail to Mr. Shamah as well.  Remember that “one plus one plus one…plus one equals infinite.”

Richard and I sent our first e-mails to the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá (Panama Tourist Authority) this morning and started the ball rolling.  Tomorrow I plan to send a similar message to the major newspapers in Panama, (e.g., La Estrella de Panamá, La Prensa, Crítica, El Siglo, and Panamá América).  It’s most  likely they will also  join the cause.

Imagine 1,500 modern, air-conditioned buses exquisitely painted with typical Panamanian scenes circulating through the streets of this warm and vibrant tropical city.  Awesome!  Please go ahead and send your message to Mr. Shamah—now.  I’m so happy, I’m jumping out of my skin.  Good Day.

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