The Panama Deception

HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT

In their Oscar-winning documentary, director Barbara Trent and writer/editor David Kasper contrast media coverage of the 1989 invasion of Panama with expert testimony. The filmmakers backtrack to the U.S. turn-of-the-century takeover of the Panama Canal--and volatile aftermath--before flashing forward to the reform-minded Carter era. When the CIA-supported Noriega comes to power, reform gives way to repression, and Reagan calls for the dictator's ouster. The documentary streams for free online. 1992. 90 minutes.

Héroe Transparente

HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT

This documentary film explores the life of Buglé Panamanian hero Victoriano Lorenzo through the historical memory of prominent social struggles and cultural figures. From a young age, Lorenzo was deeply aware of the injustices perpetrated by the Conservative party regime. At that time, Panama was a department of Colombia, and the violent political-military struggles between the liberal and conservative parties intensified in the late 19th century. Despite being marginalized from official history and sometimes depicted as a bandit or a victim of circumstances, Lorenzo is remembered in popular historical memory as the Transparent Hero: the guerrilla "cholo" and his army of "mountaineer" liberators who eluded their enemies and never abandoned their cause. 50 minutes.

Box 25

High School/Adult

Box 25 is a documentary directed by Mercedes Arias Delfina Vidal. The film explores the fraught historical relationship between the U.S.A. and Panama through 114 recently rediscovered letters written by Panama Canal laborers. The letters describe the horrific working conditions and discrimination the workers faced as well as the hopes that kept them alive. Box 25 highlights the historical voices from the Panama Canal that are so frequently erased from history. The film is available to stream free online.

Miss Panama

HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT

In 1980, Gloria Karamañites made history by becoming the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Panama. Prior to her victory, pageant officials attempted to prevent her from winning by insisting she answer an additional obscure legal question. Gloria's story sheds light on broader issues of race, national identity, and the far-reaching impacts of US imperialism. Through a blend of archival footage, real-life accounts, and personal testimony, the series raises questions about who has the opportunity to represent a nation. 28 minutes.

Panama Canal Stories

HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT

Panama Canal Stories chronicles five stories of people who helped build the famous canal and Panama itself. Spanning a century, from 1913 to 2013, the film weaves together the tales of five characters: Clarice, a young Jamaican laborer forced to choose between love and survival at the hands of her American and British bosses during the Canal’s construction; Jake, the son of an engineer who grows up in the ‘American zone’ in 1950s Panama but who wants to be with his Panamanian friends; José, a student caught up in the 1960s political unrest and his love for a pretty American girl, Lucy; Silverio, a chauffeur for visiting U.S. politicians who is hired to spy on them by local political activists in 1977; and Clarice Jones, a jazz singer in New York City who discovers that her great-grandmother worked on the canal and decides to go to Panama to explore her roots.

Panquiaco

HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT

Cebaldo, an indigenous man from Panama, is a fishermen's assistant in a town in northern Portugal who suffers of nostalgia. In his loneliness, memories takes him away from his daily routine, immersing in a journey back to his village in Guna Yala, where a botanical doctor confronts him with the impossibility of returning to the past.

Gilberto R. Gerald was born in Panama. He temporarily resided in Trinidad and Tobago before immigrating to the United States in 1967 to pursue higher education. While working as an architect, he gradually became involved in the gay and lesbian rights movement. In 1978, he co-founded the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG), becoming (the first paid) executive director of the organization in 1983.

Guillermo Trujillo

Guillermo Trujillo (1927 – 2018) was a contemporary Panamanian artist best known for his paintings which meld Indigenous iconography, political themes, and Western European techniques. His work synthesized the styles of the many cultures of his country’s heritage in a contemporary form.

Duelo: Memorias de una Invasión: An interactive website from Revista Colon including a timeline of the 1989 U.S. Invasion of Panama and nine chronicles by journalists detailing the experiences of those who survived and died during the invasion. Each chronicle includes artwork by Latin@ artists who further explore the themes discussed in each chronicle through their artwork. This is a Spanish-language website, but built-in Google features can adequately translate the website into English.

Panama and the Canal Collection from the Digital Library of the Caribbean: A collection of resources ranging from newspapers, books, scholarly articles, photographs and mixed materials about Panama, the Panama Canal, and the Canal Zone. Most of the materials are provided by various projects at the University of Florida.