Afro-Panamanians
Country · Panama
Two Black Panamas — the colonial-era Congos of the Caribbean coast, and the West Indians who dug the canal and stayed.
Afro-Panamanians at a glance
- Country
- Panama
- Main centres
- Colón · Panama City · Bocas del Toro · Portobelo
- Region
- Central America
- How many
- A large share of the population, in two distinct communities
- Languages
- Spanish · Panamanian Creole English
- Dialling code
- +507
The African connection
The Congos descend from cimarrones who escaped the Spanish silver route and whose carnival tradition parodies their former masters. Tens of thousands of Barbadians and Jamaicans built the canal, and their descendants remain in Colón and the city.
Key dates for Afro-Panamanians
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Afro-Panamanians and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
Every Asian country →The Afro-Panamanians channel
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