December Panorama’s with Gabriel Barletta

Gabriel Barletta

CEO of Panorama de las Américas

Despite tourist overcrowding in some world cities, urban tourism generally serves as a driving force that promotes the development of better services, creates points of interest in cities that benefit both residents and visitors, and motivates the beautification of streets, parks, and public areas. Tourism is intrinsically linked to the way a city develops and, tangentially, improves living conditions for everyone.

In this month’s edition, we cover different aspects of urban tourism. First, we discuss El Cangrejo, a neighborhood in the center of Panama City that brings together gastronomic diversity, one of the best nightlife scenes, specialty cafes, and creative spaces within just a few blocks. It’s a neighborhood that spontaneously became a refuge for counterculture and today offers a scene of incredible authenticity. Additionally, El Cangrejo reflects the great cultural diversity of this country. In the less than one thousand meters that make up Vía Argentina, its central axis, tourists find a Chinese tea house, Spanish tapas, Mexican tacos, and Vietnamese and Japanese specialties.

Also in Panama, we have the Biomuseo, an example of a cultural facility valuable to locals that today constitutes one of the country’s great tourist attractions. Under its colorful and disruptive roofs, it holds a fascinating history: the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama and with it the creation of a bridge that united two continents, changed ocean currents, and transformed life on Earth forever.

Another example of urban tourism is a cultural event that ended up being a magnet for foreign visitors: the Panama Jazz Festival. This annual gathering, which has rescued and celebrated the historical memory of Panamanian jazz and its global influence, attracts the attention of locals and foreigners alike and, during its closing ceremony, transforms the quadrangle of Ciudad del Saber into the city’s focal point. Those of us who live in Panama know that the Festival is an unmissable experience that marks our calendars every January.

On the international front, but still within the urban realm, we have a note about what graffiti has meant for a metropolis as complex as Bogotá. This street expression has beautified the city, transformed characters on the margins of the law into recognized artists, and reclaimed depressed areas for locals and visitors.

Well, and to change the subject a bit, our destination of the month is the Bahamas archipelago with its pink sand beaches, turquoise blue waters rarely seen elsewhere in the world, and radiant sun that paints everything yellow. This Copa destination in the Caribbean has a tourist offering almost as vast as its number of islands.

Come with us and discover the charm of exploring the streets of our cities with a different perspective. After all, urban tourism is at the origin of the activity that unites us so much: the love of travel.