Something the world will never forget about the 2010 FIFA’s Word Cup in South Africa, is the deafening sound of the vuvuzelas. As you probably know, vuvuzelas are plastic trumpets, about three feet long, brightly colored and sound pretty much like an elephant. This noise-making trumpet of South African football fans became to symbolize the sport in the country.
We don’t have vuvuzelas in Panama. Instead we have the murga. A murga is a small music combo which consists of a couple of brass instruments, drums and other noise making artifacts. They are widely used during the Carnival festivities, baseball and football games. Their music is so contagious, it’s difficult to resist the temptation of dancing to their hot tropical rhythms.
When a baseball game is tight, and the winning run can turn to either team, the noise of the murga could make the difference. The teams know that, so the make sure they bring in the noisiest murga to the stadiums. When they start playing, the crowd roars like an African lion and the reaction is immediately seen in the field. A baseball game without a murga is like an ocean without waves.
Below are several pictures of a murga playing at the Rod Carew baseball park in Panama City, Panama. Here we go.
Photograph of several members of a "murga" of Panama Metro. Notice the African drums or "tumbas" on the left. The gentlemen with the green jacket was the leader of the group. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Two members of the Panama Metro murga gives us the victory sign. Indeed, this team won the national championship. The festivities in the city were heard on the dark side of the moon. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Picture of of a Panamanian murga in action. Notice the trumpet in the background. At this particular moment, the team was losing, thus the sad faces of the spectators. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
A close-up view of the murga's drum players in the middle of the crowd. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Now it's time for the wind instruments to join the fun. As you can see, the murga blends beautifully with the crowd. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Members of the murga take a well deserved break during the brief pause at the end of an inning. Energized with beer, they will continue their music joined in by the fired-up spectators. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Europe has their own group songs, Africans have their traditional vuvuzelas, Argentina has their faithful barras, and we in Panama have our musical murgas. All of them add spice and flavor to the game. Yep, if you come to Panama during the dry season (December-April), I encourage you to drop over to a baseball game. You’ll remember the experience for the rest of your life. Good Day.
