I Am Panama

Snapshot of a young woman selling newspapers at Via España in Panama City. “Soy Panama” is translated in English as, “I am Panama”. Indeed, the people are the flesh and bone of a country. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R./Michael Moore

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Warm and Friendly Smiles at an Open Market in Panama

During my recent foray into El Dorado territory I captured many interesting scenes which I’ve been posting during the last few days.  All my pictures have concentrated on the festivities of the Chinese Lunar New Year.  Chinese culture is fascinating in search of a better word.  Their use of the color red to decorate their festivities is captivating and exciting.  I can’t get enough of this vibrating color.

After looking at clowns, paper lanterns, dragons, fashion shows and lot of other Chinese related themes, it was a breath of fresh air to capture the warm and friendly smiles of some of the attendees at the venue.  A friendly smile is so contagious it will break the ice and make you feel happy to return the smile.

Below are some of the friendly smiles I saw during my photo walk at El Dorado Shopping Mall.  Here we go.

Snapshot of a smiling young girl at the Chinese Lunar New Year open market held within the premises of El Dorado Shopping Mall in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a young woman making cotton candy at the Chinese Lunar New Year open market in Panama City, Panama. She is the elder sister of the previous girl shown in the first picture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of an attractive young Chinese woman nicely dressed in traditional Chinese clothes. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a sexy promoter of cellphones at the Chinese Lunar New Year open market in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Fans

Fans are a special breed of people.  They will do whatever it takes to follow their team and make it win.  They paint their faces and bodies with the traditional colors of the team, wear extremely odd hats, wear weirdy looking clothes, and travel millions of miles anywhere in the globe to see their team win or lose.  If they lose, the party stops during the early rays of the sun, and if the team lose, the party goes on anyway…albeit with a few sad tears.

Usually when you go to a sports venues, the thousands of fans look like a giant flood of people.  Their faces and bodies are lost by the immensity of the crowd.  Fans look like small dots of bright colors in the distance; like magnified pixels on the bright screen of your computer.  At stadiums, fans are faceless.  Only their roar is clearly perceived.

During my recent visit to Rod Carew’s stadium, I walked around in an effort to personalize the fans.  I wanted to know how they looked like.  I wanted to know if they were men, women or children.  I wanted to know how they were dressed.  I wanted to photograph the fans in flesh and bone.  No more pixeled-looking figures lost in the distance.

Below are several photographs of fans at a baseball game in Panama City, Panama.  You can see their faces very well, and their beautiful smiles too.  Here we go.

Photograph of a Panamanian family at a baseball game in Panama City, Panama. The dad was having fun with his Panama beer, the mother was having fun following the game, and the daughter was having fun collecting autographs. It was a win-win situation for everybody in the family. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This fan watched the game with a homely atmosphere. Personal chair, Spanish hand fan, and a close location to the field. Can't get any better than that. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This young fan was walking through the stadium like a model in a fashion show. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This fan takes advantage of the window of opportunity to embrace a baseball player. Both of them look so natural. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This young woman was adamantly reluctant to have her picture taken. I had to convince her boyfriend before getting her to pose. You can obviously see how proud the boyfriend looks. With a woman like that, I would also feel most proud. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The smiles these fans gave me lighted up the stadium. They looked absolutely gorgeous, in search of a better English word. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

And now you know how fans look like in a baseball game in Panama City, Panama.  They look just like any other fan in any city around the world—really cool!  Good Day.

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People and Faces of the Coastal Strip in Panama

One of my favorite subjects in photography are people and faces.  They say so much without words.  Specially faces of old people or faces of very young children.  When I visited the Coastal Strip on December 8, 2009, I looked around for interesting faces to share with you.  I found a face of a young girl painted like a cat which was particularly attractive.  I also observed our grandnephews for new facial expressions.  They are an inspiration to us, as you probably would have noticed.

Please share with me today, some of the people and faces observed at the Coastal Strip on December 8, 2009.  Here we go.

A young kitty-girl present at the Coastal Strip waiting for the lighting of a tall Christmas tree. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

Anonymous faces anxiously waiting for the lighting of a Christmas tree at the Coastal Strip in Panama City, Panama on December 8, 2009. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

Two beautiful Digitel assistants distribute promotional balloons to the children present at the Coastal Strip. These gorgeous faces almost melted down my Birthday camera. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

Are you looking at me? Carol tastes a caramelized Apple at Panama's Coastal Strip on December 8, 2009. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

Abdiel takes a big bite at a bright red sweetened apple at the Coastal Strip. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

A penny for your thoughts? Abdiel and Carol take a break after monkeying for a while at the Coastal Strip. (Credit: ©Omar Upegui R.)

As you can see, people look more or less the same all over the world.  Panama is no exception.  People—specially children—are fascinating subjects to photograph.  It was a most enjoyable evening at the Coastal Strip.  Good Day.

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Photograph of the Day: La Peatonal Street

La Peatonal Street (Pedestrian Street) in Panama City, Panama. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

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An Emotional Encounter With my Former Barber

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Panama’s Pedestrian Street (Calle Peatonal) to intermingle with other people and to remember how the street  was nowadays.   I hadn’t  been there during the last fifteen years.  It looked very romantic and nostalgic.  The street was full of people, kids busy licking ice cream cones, hungry pigeons, street photographers, Kuna Indians with brightly colored clothes and of course, street peddlers.  There were bright colors floating everywhere, which was a  feast to my eyes.

It was Sunday afternoon, and the color of the sun was great for taking photographs.  I decided to go to this fascinating place during the late afternoon hours in an attempt to capture the soft light of the sun.  Maybe that would allow me to take better pictures.  At least, that’s what the technical books say. (Grin)

As I strolled through the street, I noticed the barber shop where I used to go when I was about sixteen years old living in a big house in front of Herrera Plaza. At that time, I was attending high school at Instituto Pan Americano (IPA).  I approached the building—Barbería Víctor—in a curious attempt to see what remained of this place.  Everything was exactly the same it was, as if the clock has stopped to click.

Inside I noticed a gentleman with two ladies involved in a lively conversation.  The man was the same person who used to cut my hair a long time ago.  He had aged gracefully.  He still had his well trimmed mustache and was elegantly dressed.  His name is Víctor, just like his father.  Overall, he looked very well and with good spirits.

I introduced myself and told him who I was.  He was surprised that I described exactly what chair he used when he cut my hair.  We embraced and reminisced the good old times.  It was a very emotional encounter I never expected when I went to see the old barber shop.

I took a picture of Víctor in front of his barber shop.  The two ladies with him also agreed to pose for the camera.

This is what my Birthday camera captured that wonderful Sunday afternoon.  Here we go.

Photograph of Víctor, my barber more than 46 years ago. The two ladies on the background are Víctor's older sisters. (Credit: Omar Upegui R./Michael Moore)

Every day has its bagagge of good or bad experiences.  This Sunday was a breath of fresh air which flashed back happy memories of my past.  Remembering the past is like living it again.  Good Day.

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Joke: Definition of Politics

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is Politics?”

Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way:

I am the head of the family, so call me The President. Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we call her the Government. We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People. The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we will call him the Future. Now think about that and see if it makes sense.”

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper.

So the little boy goes to his parent’s room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy say’s to his father, “Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.”

The father says, “Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.”

The little boy replies, “The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is deep in crap.”

Unfortunately this happens in many countries I know, including mine. Adieu!

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