Day 48: Christmas Day in Cartagena - Saturday December 25, 2010

Nary an iguana was stirring in the walled city this morning. It was great to see the ebb and flow of architectural styles since the 17th century. We looked at the Tamale festival, but we were so near Casa de Socorro, where we ate seafood the first night, that we decided to go for the fresh fish again. Good call!

Diasporas: San Pedro Claver was a Jesuit that tended to the black slaves and has a big museum dedicated to his world. Bolivar emancipated the slaves by proclamation as part of the 1821 Independence from Spain. The big African diaspora to Central & South America was during the 17th & 18th centuries. The big ports for the slave trade were New Orleans in the north for cotton plantations, ports all along the Caribbean islands for sugar and on the mainland for bananas and mines. Cartagena was a major transit point for mainly Spanish slavery in South America. The slave plantations ran all the way south through the Amazon delta. The Brits dumped their unruly slaves in Central America. The Chinese were brought over in lieu of Africans as virtual slaves during the 19th century. The big European farmer & commercial migration took place in the second half of the 19th century. The Arab diaspora to Central America was in the first 2/3rd of the 20th Century. They are well represented in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Eastern Panama. The Jewish diaspora pretty much followed the Anglo influence to Panama City and Mexico City. Food changed - Falafel in Colon, Panama was thin like the Egyptian version and had sesame on the outside.

We had dinner at “San Pedro” restaurant at the Claver Plaza. It was fun to see families, beautiful people, etc. enjoying a balmy evening on the old town. The children and tightly dressed young ladies were particularly radiant. This was distinctly a family fiesta, with pictures taken, popsicles eaten, and many eyes opened to the wonder of the old city.