What is the Festival of Diablos and Congos?
Every two years, the Festival of Diablos and Congos brings a burst of color and drama to Portobelo. Tourists and locals alike are drawn to the San Jerónimo Fort and other smaller sites in Portobelo to see the Congos, Diablos, musicians, and singers who have come from many towns and the provincial capital of Colón. The artists and performers bring their best skills and talents to the masks, the costumes, the dances, and the music that enliven the Festival. Other complementary activities that share in the celebration of the area’s long and proud Afro-colonial heritage include a crafts fair, a farmers’ market featuring regional food and drink specialties, art and photography exhibits, and other family-friendly entertainment.

The Festival of Diablos and Congos grew out of a series of conversations in 1999 among a group of Portobelans concerned about the loss of their ethnic traditions and values. The founders decided to organize as Realce Histórico (Historical Highlight), with the goal of working to maintain, preserve, and promote the popular manifestations of their culture.

The group decided that the main activity would highlight the power and beauty of the Congos and Diablos. The event would be both competition and celebration of these games, dances, and rituals. The First Portobelo Festival of Congos and Diablos was celebrated on 19 March 2000.

From the very start, this initiative has been supported by the photographer and leading patron of culture, Sandra Eleta. Artists and other promoters from Panamá’s capital city have since joined in the effort. The Fundación Portobelo is the foundation organizing the event, working in collaboration with the Asociación Cultural AlterArte.
Also from the start, the public response to the activities of the Diablos y Congos has exceeded all expectations. The massive attendance at the last Festival in 2005, with many thousands of visitors, has now made this event the most important cultural festival anywhere in the country.
International tourists, as well as national tourists from Colón and many other provinces filled the streets of Portobelo from the earliest hours of the day, visiting the fair’s many vendors, exhibitions, and other venues for family entertainment at the Festival.
This Festival is no mere cultural event, restoring and promoting a forgotten part of our cultural heritage. It is not just a way of highlighting the positive aspects of the province of Colón. Instead, it has all of the potential to become a powerful event that attracts ever more attention of artists, scholars, and cultural tourists from within and beyond our borders.

As we have already seen, the Festival represents a wealth of opportunities, both in terms of economic gain and in terms of the public image of Portobelo, of Colón, and for Panamá in general. Events of this scope and ambition are undoubtedly key to Panamá’s quest to become an important cultural destination in both regional and worldwide contexts.