August’s Panorama with Gabriel Barletta

Gabriel Barletta

CEO of Panorama de las Américas

August: A Tribute to Water, Life, and Memory

This month, in commemoration of the anniversary of the inauguration of the Panama Canal on August 15, 1914, we dedicate our edition to celebrating the multiple ways in which human beings can coexist, protect, and flourish alongside nature. On each page, you will find stories that, although separated by thousands of kilometers, share the same conviction: the future is cultivated from the land, culture, and memory.

We open with a tribute to the Canal’s watershed, where more than 1,750 coffee growers, organized in 148 communities, plant much more than coffee. Under the Cuencafé brand, the dream of having their own product has become an exemplary model of sustainable development. Here, growing coffee also means planting trees, caring for water, and strengthening rural life. This alliance between the communities and the Panama Canal Authority bears fruit that smells of fertile earth, dignity, and future. A project with a human face and environmental purpose that inspires and makes us proud.

We then move to Bocas del Toro, one of the most magical places in the Panamanian Caribbean. Its exuberant biodiversity, endless beaches, and living cultures offer visitors an experience that goes far beyond traditional tourism. Wellness retreats, ancestral cacao ceremonies, walks through jungles that merge with the sea, and communities that preserve their essence. Bocas invites us to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with what is essential.

Finally, we cross to the south of the continent to pay tribute to Paracas, on the Peruvian coast, where desert and sea write a joint story of extremes and abundance. This year, the Paracas National Reserve celebrates its 50th anniversary and does so alongside the centenary of the discovery of the extraordinary Paracas culture, a civilization that knew how to weave beauty and spirituality in the middle of the desert. There, where it almost never rains, one of the planet’s richest marine ecosystems and one of ancient America’s most sophisticated textile traditions flourished.

August is a month of memory, deep roots, and forward-looking perspectives. From the Canal’s watershed to the funeral shrouds of Paracas, from Chicago’s urban gardens to the beaches of Bocas del Toro, this edition pays tribute to the territories where human beings decide, with consciousness and sensitivity, to coexist with nature and care for its legacy.

Panorama of the Americas invites you, as always, to journey with us along these paths of history, sustainability, and shared beauty.