Casco Viejo, where good neighbors thrive

By Dafydd Young
COMMUNITY involvement has become the name of the game in Casco Viejo whose inhabitants, many of them expats, have banded together for multiple causes in recent years.

Purists, or those who need something to help them chew the fat, argue over whether it should be called Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo. Newsroom has opted for Casco Viejo (it’s shorter). The Visitor recently opted for Antiguo. Public signs are ambivalent. The folks who live there seem content with “Casco”.
No matter what it’s called, the residents  are proud of their neighborhood and strive to protect and improve it and heaven help the “vandals” who come up with out of character moves or suggestions, like building extra floors on buildings, or tearing out the old flooring in the Municipal building. The targets of their outrage have ranged from President Martinelli, whose palace adorns the old city, to former Mayor Bosco Vallarino and the Trump family. One of the sons of “Donald” returning from a visit to the “bent thumb” tower in Punta Pacifica talked of a tower in Casco. He was trumped in spades.
Apart from fighting a losing guerrilla war to try to stop the encirclement of their historical treasure with a six-lane highway, the folks behind the newly formed moat continue to band together as true “citizens” to get things done, rather than wait for the slow grinding mechanism of the authorities to slip into gear.
In the past they created, and paid for out of their own pockets, hand decorated garbage cans, which have become a target for tourist cameras. As businesses struggled to survive during the long drawn our refurbishing of the streets, they created events to support them, and  produced a discount card to help ease the burden for stores and restaurants.
They have even worked as a good neighbor group to help a long time bien– cuidado get a reasonable retirement.
Their latest joint venture came as a result of traffic congestion aggravated by illegal parking and the ongoing road works. They met with the SPI (a special police unit assigned to the presidency) and put forward their own
plan.
Street by street they would place giant “pots” filled with earth and plants on sidewalks most prone to illegal parking.

They got the official nod and the project moved ahead with members of the local community group reaching into their wallets to donate $50 apiece, or more, for the pots.

On Sunday, April 21, cash was supplemented by muscle, and the citizens, armed with tools, bags of soil and plants turned out in force to work on their project with a double purpose, easing traffic flow and beautifying the area.

It’s the sort of community spirit that has served local populations elsewhere whether it be fighting outrageous development projects, creating green spaces, support groups, and social events.
There’s a message here for other areas of Panama and beyond. As a starting point, what about a campaign to put up street names, district by district? Any takers?