Coincidence and polleras unite Canadian families in Panama

By Lourdes Quijada
Daniel Martinez followed in the tracks of scores of scores of thousands of Latin Americans and emigrated from Veraguas to Canada, to build a new life in a country renowned for its multiculturalism.

There he married a Canadian of Italian descent and they settled into an Italian community in Montreal, Quebec.

His nearest neighbors were the Cesaratto family whose daughter Sylvia is now Canadian Ambassador to Panama and whose parents still inhabit the house.
Although a proud new-Canadian, Martinez never forgot his Panamanian roots, and when his daughter Lucia Gesualdi Angelica Martinez was born he went out of his way to help her understand,  and appreciate, the culture of her father’s homeland.

And for Martinez the pollera, the treasure of so many Panamanian girls, was the perfect symbol of the culture and, as Lucia grew up she was imbued with its history and knowledge of national dance routines.
This year, back in Panama, on Saturday, January 11, the 17-year old Montreal girl was crowned Queen of the 1000 polleras in Las Tablas and among the 1000 joining her  in the parade were former Montreal neighbor, Canadian ambassador Sylvia Cesaratto. and her daughter.