Panama’s President Mulino Approves Law 516 Creating the Board of Trustees of the Festival of the Handsome Bull of Antón

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, sanctioned Law 516 of April 7, 2026, “Which creates the Board of Trustees of the Festival of the Handsome Bull of Antón and dictates other provisions,” a regulation that establishes a new organizational structure to guarantee the continuity and projection of this traditional folkloric celebration.

The Festival of the Handsome Bull Now has a Law

According to the official statement, the board will be the entity in charge of organizing the festival, with the responsibility of “ensuring its annual celebration in the district of Antón”, as well as “allocating and managing the resources it receives from the State, solely for the conservation, promotion and development of this activity”.  The board of trustees includes representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Panama Tourism Authority, the Antón Municipal Council, the Municipality of Antón, and the Antón Community Board.

It will also include two representatives from civic associations in the region—nominated by their organizations and selected by the board’s legal representative—and a folklore specialist from Antón appointed by the Ministry of Culture. Regarding financing, the regulations stipulate that, in addition to the allocation provided for in Law 25 of 2009, the Tourism Authority will designate a budget item for the tourism promotion of the festival, while the Municipality of Antón will contribute an annual budget. 

The law also introduces an amendment to Article 1 of Law 10 of 2004, which now states: “October 15th of each year is declared Civic Day and Folkloric Festival of the National Festival of the Handsome Bull of Antón in the district of Antón, province of Coclé, in order to preserve, disseminate and promote the folkloric customs and traditions of this district.   

This festival will be celebrated during the second and third week of the month of October of each year.”  With this sanction, the Executive formalizes a management model that seeks to strengthen the organization, financing and cultural projection of the Festival del Toro Guapo, considered one of the most representative traditional expressions of the province of Coclé.