Monthly Archives: February 2012

The MACRO Festival Comes to Casco Viejo

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The drink-fueled Excess of the Carnival may be over, But for Those more interested in art and culture, March Brings the MACRO festival to Panama City’s Casco Viejo from the 13th to the 17th.
The festival MACRO was Launched in 2010 and blends photography and Fashion with art shows. Every year, the festival has proved MACRO popular so That They Have Had to keep moving to larger venues. In 2010, the Festival Took place in Plaza Herrera, the 2011 festival Cathedral was held in the Square in old town, and This Year’s events will be Held in Casco Viejo.
The festival bills Itself as a meeting of visions, ideas, concepts and Experiences. Macrofest is a party! The avant-garde festival links art forms Including music, fashion, art, design and film in a dream scenario is available to all That age groups for five days in the third week March. Together With The National Institute of Culture of Panama, the Organizers Have created a whole to build Macrofest Infrastructure Into an international event, where prominent artists, speakers and Their Participants can share with other visitors and Panamanians, Whether They Are Professionally Involved in the arts, or just curious.
Attracting more than 5.000 people each year, With A program and at other venues distributed THROUGHOUT the city, plays a crucial role Macrofest in showcasing ideas from both established and emerging, presenting a new vision of the city and the national cultural heritage. Casco Viejo, as a place that combine features of ancient and modern, welcomes locals and tourists to an event full of emotion and character, offering an opportunity to get carried through the streets, enjoy fine dining and entertainment venues that will show the magic of a city that never sleeps is marching inexorably and that into the future.
Visit and get closer to Macrofest Panamanian culture, art, music, and fashion.

The Panamanian Who Helped Create Off-Broadway

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The death on February 24th of Theodore Mann, co-founder of Circle in the Square at the age of 87 had highlighted the little-known role that a Panamanian had in the creation of Off-Broadway. In 1951, the young Theodore Mann teamed up with Panamanian director Jose Quintero and a few other investors to create Circle in the Square in a small space just off Greenwich Village’s Sheridan Square.

Jose Quintero was born in Panama City, Panama, the third of 3 children, to Carlos Rivera Quintero, from Spain, and Consuelo Palmerola. He was educated in the United States at Los Angeles City College, and later at the University of Southern California, where he decided on a career in theatre. After notification of his intention, his father, who wanted him to be a physician, declared him dead, leading to a seven year estrangement from his family.

His involvement in the birth of Off-Broadway theatre through the Circle in the Square helped him to become one of the most celebrated New York theatre directors and producers (both on and off-Broadway). His name became closely linked to that of the American playwright Eugene O’Neill. Quintero’s interest contributed to the rediscovery of the playwright through his staging of productions including, The Iceman Cometh in 1956 (which launched the career of Jason Robards), the New York premiere of Long Day’s Journey into Night (which won Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor), Strange Interlude (with a cast which included Geraldine Page, Jane Fonda, Franchot Tone, Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle and Betty Field), More Stately Mansions in both Los Angeles and New York (with Ingrid Bergman) and A Moon for the Misbegotten, at the Academy Playhouse, Lake Forest, Illinois (which won the Tony award for Best Direction).

Quintero did not limit himself to the works of O’Neill. He directed more than seventy productions by playwrights, including Truman Capote, Jean Cocteau, Thornton Wilder, Jean Genet, Brendan Behan and Tennessee Williams. In 1961, he directed Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty in the film version of Tennessee Williams’s The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone which brought Lotte Lenya an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. In 1990, he directed Liv Ullmann in Noël Coward’s Private Lives at the National Theatre in Oslo. He also directed operas for the Metropolitan Opera and the Dallas Opera.

Quintero was also a noted teacher, lectured on theatre and gave master classes in acting at the University of Houston and Florida State University. Quintero died in 1999.

The Third Set of Canal Locks

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Currently the Panama Canal has two ‘lanes’ for vessels, each with its own set of locks (one set for at either end for vessels travelling from the Pacific to the Caribbean, and one set for ships travelling the opposite direction. As part of the canal expansion, a third set of locks will be added at either end of the canal, one on the Pacific side to the southwest of the existing Miraflores Locks, the other to the east of the existing Gatun Locks.

As might be expected 100 years after the original locks were built, the new sets are considerably more modern in design. Each chamber will have three lateral water-saving basins, for a total of nine basins per lock and 18 basins total. Like the existing locks, these will be filled by gravity, but unlike the existing locks, the water-saving basins will allow the used water to be recycled, rather than just being allowed to flow into the oceans.

10 Years in design, the new lock chambers will be 1,400 ft (426.72 m) long, by 180 ft (54.86 m) wide, and 60 ft (18.29 m) deep. They will use rolling gates instead of miter gates, the swinging gates which are used by the existing locks. Rolling gates are used in almost all existing locks with dimensions similar to those being proposed, and are a well-proven technology. The new locks will use tugboats to position the vessels instead of locomotives. As in the case of the rolling gates, tugs are successfully and widely utilized for these purposes in locks of similar dimensions.

In a recent interview, Nick Pansic, one of the design engineers for the new locks said “The Third Set of Locks project really is the opportunity for the Panama Canal Authority to “unlock the bottle neck” on their current canal system. This project includes the largest water-saving basins ever designed or built and the highest design standards we have come across as international designers for lock projects. Specifically, we are designing for major earthquakes, and the design requirements are extremely high. We’ve been pioneering new technology to advance the design state of the practice – specifically for the lock walls, and also for the lock gates. The lock gates are massive steel structures, over three thousand tons each. Making these lock gates work under a highly seismic event has been a real challenge that the design team has come through with the help of 3D modeling.”

Expanded Panama Canal to Offer Environmental Benefits

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Paul Stott, a marine engineering lecturer at Newcastle University, UK has just published a report in which he examines the potential environmental benefits of the current Panama Canal expansion works. The report, published in the International Journal of Maritime Engineering, perhaps surprisingly, predicts that the widened canal could dramatically reduce the environmental footprint of the world’s shipping.

The Panama Canal is currently about half-way through completing its major expansion project. By 2014 (the 100th anniversary of the canal’s opening) ships with a beam of up to 49 meters will be able to travel through the 82-kilometer channel, a significant increase on the current 32.2-meter limit. The beam limit, known in the maritime as “Panamax” will have knock-on effects throughout the shipping industry.

The impacts will be felt beyond just the ships that actually use the canal. Approximately 45% of all larger seagoing vessels built in the last 10 years conformed to the Panamax constraint because, despite the fact that many of these ships may never go near the Panama Canal, their value is based on their ability to do so. “The size of the benefit is much larger than one might think based solely on the canal’s traffic statistics; it has to be viewed in the context of the whole fleet,” says Stott.

However, the industry has just been through a huge boom in building ships, so it could take a while to transition to more efficient hull designs. But, says Stott, “because we built too many ships, freight rates are poor; as a result, the 16% cost savings could, paradoxically, provide enough incentive for ship owners to buy newer, more efficient boats”.

Larger ships will enable the transport of more goods in fewer trips, realizing economies of scale, and larger beams will facilitate the design of more efficient vessel hulls. Overall, Scott predicts that the savings in fuel and emissions could be as great as 16% per tonne-mile. A 16% improvement in efficiency is significant given that the International Maritime Organization estimates that, without major steps to reduce emissions, shipping will be responsible for 12–18% of global emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Haiti and Panama Build Links

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A recent mission by the Haitian President Michel Martelly, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Lamothe and the Minister of Tourism, Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin, held a series of meetings with officials of the Panamanian Government and private sector representatives on February 6th.

They began the day with an official reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the Chancellor Roberto Enriquez received the Chief of the Haitian state with full ceremonial honors. A ministerial working meeting in the presence of various representatives of the Government of Panama followed the ceremony. During this meeting President Martelly and Minister Lamothe discussed various bilateral issues, including topics related to the travels of Haitians to Panama. Several agreements were signed.

The Panamanian President Ricardo Alberto Martinelli, signed a presidential decree reducing the cost of visas for Haitian citizens wishing to visit Panama from $1000 to $50 and the waiting period from four months to just seven days. This is a good news for the Haitian traders who travel to Panama to purchase their stock. Additionally, President Martelly discussed business opportunities and the promotion of tourism in Haiti.

The Haitian and Panamanian chancellors signed an agreement which will help protect Panamanian companies operating in Haiti and vice versa. This agreement should also allow and encourage more direct foreign investment in Haiti and the creation of sustainable jobs. Both ministers also signed a technical assistance agreement in the fields of agriculture, trade, tax collection, promotion of investments, social security and management of ports and airports.

After the meeting, the Haitian delegation attended a lunch hosted by President Martinelli, where the two Heads of State reiterated and reinforced their commitment to strengthen their collaboration and finalized the details for the opening of an Embassy of Panama in Haiti. The two leaders also discussed issues concerning Panamanian investment in infrastructure and the technical assistance in the reconstruction of ports and airports.

In the afternoon, the President and his delegation visited the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal, where the president was given the honor of opening the locks to allow the passage of a ship. The delegation then went on to the Chamber of Commerce of Panama to discuss business opportunities and investment to Panamanian companies in Haiti, before continuing on to meetings and then a dinner with Panamanian business representatives.

Top Panamanian Footballer Joins FC Dallas

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2012 will mark the debut of one of Panama’s top footballers at the US Major League Soccer team, FC Dallas. While his nickname “El Super Ratón” (“Mighty Mouse”) might not inspire fear in the hearts of MLS teams, defenses will need to be prepared. Blas Antonio Miguel Pérez Ortega has scored goals for every team he has appeared for during long career, with spells playing in Colombia, Mexico, Spain and Dubai. “It’s a new challenge in my career,” Pérez told MLSsoccer.com after Panama’s 1-0 friendly loss to the US on Wednesday night. “I have to adapt as fast as possible – it’s another type of soccer, another culture.”

Perez made his debut for Panamá Viejo in 1998 before moving to Arabe Unido in 2001. In 2002 he joined the Uruguayan team Nacional (one of the most successful teams in South America), and then Envigado, Centauros Villavicencio, Deportivo Cali and Cúcuta Deportivo in Colombia. In 2007 he moved to Spain to play for Hercules. In 2008, he returned to Latin America, appearing for Tigres de la UANL in Mexico. With Cúcuta, Perez won the Copa Mustang in 2006 and in 2007 Cúcuta and Blas Perez made their debut in Copa Libertadores, in which Blas scored 8 goals, including two against Argentina’s Boca Juniors. His 8 goals were the second highest tally for the tournament.

Perez has been fixture of the Panamanian national squad since 2000. Pérez made his debut for Panama against Guatemala. He played for Panama at the 2007 Gold Cup, in which they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the U.S. He ended up as Panama’s top scorer, with three goals and one assist. Blas Perez was also named in the 2007 Gold Cup “Best XI”.

“I know MLS from the friendly matches we’ve played,” he said. “I’ve been in Mexico for a long time, so I know the level they have. It’s an important challenge for me and I’m going to take it head on. Going to a new league shouldn’t affect me. I’ve been outside the country playing for a long time, and I know everything depends on me, on my professionalism and the idea of building a future in MLS.”

Pérez said he doesn’t know much about his new coaches, and he hasn’t met many players yet. But he expects the transition into the Dallas team to be quick given the support structures awaiting him there. The forward will be travelling to Dallas alongside Panamanian team-mate Carlos Rodríguez, a left back who also signed with FCD in recent weeks. Like other Panamanians, Pérez sees the moves as part of an emerging trend for his countrymen. “In Panama, we have lots of good players,” Pérez explained. “[MLS] is opening doors for us, and now we’re headed there to open more doors for Panamanians to play in MLS.”

What is Karma?

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To try to understand this term, the law that governs it the Law of Action and Reaction, Compensation, Consequence and Cause and Effect must first be understood.

The Law of Karma is a cosmic law, i.e. beyond the limits of our planetary system and applies to all beings, including those in process of evolution. Although still relatively complex and abstruse, karma is a definable concept. Like everything in the universe is intertwined, mixed and related to everything else, and there is nothing or no one can be isolated and of itself, necessarily everything is affected, one way or another and to a greater or lesser extent, the causes set in motion by any individual.

The concept of karma is truly comforting to man, allowing us to understand that we do not necessarily depend on anyone, that everyone can shape their destiny and what is expected of us can produce favorable results or not, through the energies of nature (powerful and underlying), acting on its behalf and becoming partner of God (in whatever form) or acting against it and delaying their own evolution.