Finca La Maya, a Cultural Arts & Events Center continues its free family movie night at its large facility near San Carlos. The film will be shown on Saturday October 4, 2008. Doors open at 5pm and the movie will begin at 6 pm.

This will be the fourth time the popular community event will be offered to local families and is expected to continue on every first Saturday of each month.
 

This month, Finca La Maya will show the Acadamy Award Nominee “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, an imaginative film where every holiday has its own land. Directed by Henry Selick, this animated musical film is unique and fun for all ages. The Nightmare Before Christmas tells the heartfelt tale of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween, and all things that go bump in the night. The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.

Great news, due to more interest, we have booked another room for vendors to join us at the sale to be held at our Christmas Sale on November 8th at the Coronado Golf & Beach Resort.
 

The price for a profit table has been determined at $20.00. One table will be supplied free of charge for non-profit groups. The non-profit groups will be required to present at the December 3rd Coronado Social Association meeting, either in person or by email, a short summary of funds raised and what these funds will be used for.

If you have been at the Coronado Resort lately, you may seen this young man in the picture behind the counter. His name is Bruno Torres. He is 17 years old. He is a gifted student with a high IQ and a hope to someday use his talents for the betterment of his country, Panama.

Bruno grew up in a humble home in Ciudad Jardin, Las Mananitas, Panama City.  His mother recognized that she had a gifted child when Bruno was reading and solving math problems at the age of 3. She sought to get him into an advanced school through a scholarship granted by La Prensa. However Bruno was too young to meet the criteria. Being a persistent woman, his mother did not give up and petitioned to have her child noticed. Her case drew the attention of Roberto Eisenmann and Wendy Tribaldos, who took it upon themselves to see that Bruno would receive the education that would bring out the potential in the boy.

Recently HEARD at Mahjong Club...
...English
...Spanish
...German
and of course, sprinkled in are Asian terms such as pong, kong, chi, niko niko, pinfu, and tsumo, among others.

It is not unusual for men and women at one table to be playing the game in Spanish.  A group has begun in the San Carlos/Rio Mar area that plays only in Spanish.  This is the beauty of Mahjong and how it draws people together.

When a German couple began the game several months ago, they often conversed with other Germans in their native tongue to get a better understanding of the translation.
 
 
Also heard at Mahjong games is lots of laughter, sometimes to the point of tears!  Nothing that can be related here.  You have to be there!

A presentation of Madame Butterfly will be playing at The National Theater located in Casco Viejo on October 14th and 16th.  This classic opera is in honor of the theater’s 100th year anniversary. One of the most acclaimed operas, Madame Butterfly blends music, singing, theater, dance and visual arts to tell a story of love, hope, betrayal and tragedy.

This October’s performance of Madame Butterfly is presented by the Panama Opera Foundation, whose goal is to promote the development of artist and audience for opera in Panama. The foundation’s mission is to bring world renowned artists to Panama to teach and perform.

In line with its mission, this presentation of Madame Butterfly is being directed by Robert DeSimone, who brings an impressive career in music and directing on the international opera stage.  Robert arrives in Panama today, to begin preparations for the October performances. Rachel Cobb of New York, a Soprano with a solid stage career takes the role of Cio-Cio San (Madame Butterfly).

This article is based on an announcement email sent by Arq. Carlos A. Clement and has been translated into English by Kathy Bishop.

It is a huge pleasure top announce the following facts:

This week a contract will be signed with the Corporation of Associate Engineers, S.A. CODINASA, for the sum of USD$1,326,436.00 (one million, three hundred twenty six thousand, four hundred thirty six dollars).

This includes the construction of the roadway in front of Bahia Serena, with a length of 2.6 K.M., and built of asphalt, 6.2 m wide.  More open drainage ditches for collection of rainwater, two parallel lines of drinkable water of 3 inches in diameter on both sides of the roadway.  There will be sidewalks of 1.5 meters wide on both sides of the street, with a border of Bermuda grass, palm trees and entryways to the different properties that have paid for this project. 

For the third time this year, Spay Panama set up operations in at Gorgona’s casa communal and preformed spays and neuters on stray animals and pets for donations. With the help of community volunteers and a team of vets and vet assistants, 239 animals were sterilized over the weekend, bringing the total spays and neuters done in the area this year to 602.

To see pictures from the event, click the Read More link.

Old corn Bollos are a traditional food here in Panama. They are made with maize (hard corn). In most Panamanian families they usually are eaten at breakfast; however they are also really good on the side with sausages and other meats and a tomato sauce to dip in. You will find them served in many local restaurants and fondas.

Most Panamanian families have their own recipes for making bollos. The recipe here is belongs to my Mother’s family. Everybody loves the bollos she makes.