Movies in Panama

Even though the movie industry has been challenged by DVD’s, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Cable TV, and a whole lot of other consumer electronic devices, people are still going to the movies and of course buy their generous share of sodas and pop corn.

In Panama, even though many movie theaters have closed their doors and call it quits, others have adventured and opened up state-of-the-art movie venues; specially inside gigantic malls.  “If you build it, they will come.”  So far the strategy is working and you can see lines of customers waiting to buy their tickets.  I’m not allured by the traditional movies theaters anymore.  Instead, I watch my favorite movies through my computer using Netflix services.  They might not be the latest releases of Tinseltown, but they’re okay with me and the price is right—$7.99 a month for unlimited movies.

Below is a picture of a movie ad next to a bus stop in Panama City, Panama.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the movie "John Carter Between Two Worlds" in 3D being promoted at a bus stop in Panama City, Panama. Motion picture theaters are still hanging in there riding the technological storm around them. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

 

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A Boxing Ring in Panama

Since I was a small boy growing up in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, I listened to boxing matches on our big living room radio.  Back then, Ismael Laguna was the most popular athlete in the country.

When I graduated from primary school and traveled to the capital city, I had the opportunity of viewing two life-experience boxing matches of Roberto “Mano de Piedra” Durán.  Once against Esteban de Jesús from Puerto Rico, and the second against Héctor Thompson from Australia.  I was seated far away from the ring, since I couldn’t pay the exorbitant prices of ringside seats.  After that, I viewed boxing matches on television.  Never again attended a boxing fight at the actual venue.

Recently I returned to a boxing gym, probably to remember the Panama’s golden boxing era when Panama was the center of boxing in Latin America together with Mexico and Puerto Rico.  I went to the ring, in the middle of the gym.  It was an experience difficult to describe being right there where the real action takes place, where men are separated from the boys.

Below are several pictures of the Gimnasio Pedro “El Rockero” Alcázar located in the humble neighborhood of Curundu in Panama City, Panama.  Here we go.

Snapshot of one of the corners of a boxing ring in a gym in Panama City, Panama. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

A closer look at a cornerside of a boxing ring in Panama City, Panama. The floor canvas looked considerably dirty and deteriorated for lack of maintenance. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a corner of the boxing ring with a water disposal accessory. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the boxing ring at the level of the floor canvas. It felt soft like a sponge under my feel. It was a wonderful experience being up there where the eagles fly. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the whole ring of the Pedro "El Rockero" Alcázar's Gym. It was a marvelous sight with a soft touch of light falling from above. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Video:  Roberto Duran Versus Esteban de Jesús (November 17, 1972) – Boxeo WS

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Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams is a 1989 American drama-sports-fantasy film directed and adapted by Phil Alden Robinson from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella.

The movie stars Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Ray Liotta, Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Frank Whaley, and Burt Lancaster in his last film appearance.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a farmer who lives in rural Iowa with his wife, Annie (Amy Madigan), and their young daughter Karin (Gaby Hoffmann).

While walking through his cornfield, Ray hears a voice whisper, “If you build it, he will come” (often misquoted as “If you build it, they will come”), and sees a vision of a baseball field.

The movie is about believing, about following your own inner voice to follow a dream.  I saw that strong belief on the faces of these young kids playing at a baseball field at Ciudad Radial in Panama City, Panama.  As they played, they followed their inner voices to become some day like Derek Jeter, Ted Williams, Rod Carew, Manny Ramírez, Héctor López, Mariano Rivera, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and I could go on forever.

As you watch these photographs, I’m sure you’ll feel the intensity of the dreams of these angels playing in a field of dreams where reality mixes with fantasy.  I know I did and wanted to share the experience with you guys.  Here we go, please stay with me.

Photograph of the scoreboard of the venue where the kids play consistently every week. Our grandnephew Abdiel, plays first base with the San Cristobal Team. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The name of the venue is Campo Deportivo Los Almendros in a neighborhood called Ciudad Radial in Panama City, Panama.  The scoreboard was donated by Frank Jemott.  As you can see, it’s showing the wear and tear of time—parts of the sign are beginning to rust.  The day I was there, the teams playing were San Cristobal and Pedregal.  San Cristobal won 14 to 13—Abdiel was elated beyond description.

Photograph of the small bleachers of the baseball stadium. From this place, the proud parents watched as their youngsters accomplished their sport feats. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of the San Cristobal team stretching their legs and receiving strategy instructions from their coach. Abdiel is the player with the red trousers. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of the San Cristobal team running and performing other warming up exercises. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Playball! The game has started and Abdiel is running at first base. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of one of the participants of the San Cristobal team posing for the camera. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

At this age no dream is too big to secretly save under the pillow.   This is the origin of our super stars—fire in the belly—that thrusts them forward to fulfill their dreams.  I love it!  Good Day.

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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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The Total Cost of Beijing’s Summer Olympic Games

The National Stadium, venue of the opening and closing ceremonies with a capacity of 91,000 persons.

After a long wait of seven year, the Chinese people are anxiously waiting for the opening of their spectacular 2008 Summer Olympic Games next week.

The 2008 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad is a Summer Olympics event, that will be held in Beijing, People’s Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports, just one event more than the 2004 games.

This will the most expensive of all Olympic Games ever held. The Chinese government has promoted the games to highlight China’s emergence on the world stage and has invested heavily in new facilities and transportation systems.

When the Chinese Communist regime planned the budget for the Summer Olympic Games years ago, the budget was estimated at 30 billion Yuan. However, by the end of March 2008, the estimate has gone up to over 400 billion ($58.5 billion).

According to “Zheng Ming Magazine”, The Beijing Olympic Games are listed as the top priority of the four major tasks in 2008 by the Chinese Communist regime. After China won the bid to host the Olympic Games, the Chinese Communist regime estimated that the cost would be between 28 to 30 billion Yuan; this included the cost for building stadiums, the Olympic Village, a complete transport package and subsidiary facilities.

However, the budget kept going up every year. By the end of March 2008, the cost has gone over 400 billion, and more funding is required from the central government to cover the cost for security, subsidiary facilities and maintenance work.

The Olympic Games have been used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as another one of their “face projects” and they are trying to beautify things at all costs. According to the latest estimate by the Beijing Olympic Game Organizing Group, the total expenditure in relation to the Olympic Games will be as high as 65 billion U.S. dollars, equivalent to 450 billion Yuan. The current total cost will be five times the cost of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Driven by the “face project” mentality, the CCP officials are extremely extravagant when it comes to spending money and this is the fundamental reason for the record cost of the Beijing Olympic Games.

When will the Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games raise its curtains? It’s a symbolic number marked by the number eight. The Beijing Olympics will be broadcasted live starting at 8:08:08 in the morning of August 8th (US EST). It will be at 8th second of the 8th minute of the 8th hour of the 8th day of the 8th month (August) of the 8th year in the millennium. (8:08.8 08/08/2008).

If you like huge entertainment exhibitions, this event should be on your top list. Earlier in 2007, former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch had said that he believes that the Beijing games will be “the best in Olympic history,” Remember that August 8th is next Friday. Au revoir!

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