Rodeo in La Chorrera this Sunday!

Every year the community of La Chorrera gets together to host a rodeo Panamian style. Kent Davis of http://www.buscapanama.net attended the event last year and had this to say about it: “Erase all preconceived notions of a rodeo if you are looking for some outdoor entertainment in Panama, because this horse and pony show is like nothing you’ve ever seen. For starters, cowboys are usually, but not necessarily exclusively on horseback. And just because they are going after a 400lb bull doesn’t mean that they don’t keep one hand free for a bottle of whiskey.  And as the evening progresses and the crowd gets more lively, don’t be surprised to see a few rodeo watchers become participants.” A Panamaian rodeo is a “bull throwing”. The goal is to pull the bull down by the tail. Points are awarded to competitors based on the them getting the animal on the ground with it’s legs in the air.

“No lasso, no spurs, no red cape. Cowboys in Panama bring the bull down by the tail and the tail alone.  No small feat considering these animals usually weigh upwards of 500 pounds, and are running as fast as they can. The talented and more seasoned riders can make it look easy, but the young bucks make it painfully obvious that this is no walk in the park.   Bruised ribs, trampled hands, and broken legs all are common occurrences at a rodeo in Panama, because any small miscalculation leads to the rider being pulled of his horse and either thrown into the wall, trampled by the bull, or stepped on by his own horse.”

The rodeo starts around 1pm on August 31st and goes well into the wee hours of the morning. The atmosphere is festival-like with beer and food tents. Popular Panamian musicans Nenito Vargas and Los Plumas Negras will take the stage and keep the party going until 1 or 2 am.

This is a great opportunity to experience a Panamanian event in the company of expats. Jerin Tate of http://englishnewspanama.com is organizing expat rides to the event.

From Panama City, an air conditioned bus will leave from the ATLAPA convention center right in front of the Sheraton. The bus will leave at 11:30 am, at a cost of $8 which includes a wristband to get into the gates at the rodeo. The bus will return around 8pm.

Jerin has a few people from Coronado interested in taking a bus, but not enough to add another vehicle. So if would like to attend the rodeo, contact Jerin as soon as possible.

To reserve seats on the bus contact Jerin Tate at 6733-0657,  392-0900 or jerintate@yahoo.com

If you are driving, from El Rey in Coronado, you need to exit before the toll booth. Take the El Espino exit to go to Santa Rita.