Panamanian Separation Day
Panama separated from Colombia on November 3, 1903. This is Panamanian Separation Day.
The modern state of Panama gained independence from Spain on November 28, 1821 when it became part of Gran Colombia.
That early state included parts of modern Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana and northwestern Brazil. Eventually those regions took their own independence.
The Panama Canal
After the Spanish-American War of 1898 – 1901, the U.S. government decided it wanted to finish the long dreamed of canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The U.S. government pressured Colombia for a treaty giving the U.S. rights to build a canal across the isthmus of Panama. Colombia refused to ratify the agreement, so the Americans pushed for Panamanian independence instead.
The Panamanian Declaration of Independence was written by Frenchman Phillipe Bunau-Varilla at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
Patría
Patría, by Panamanian New Yorker Rubén Blades, is one of the most beautiful songs ever written about the meaning of homeland.
For some reason, this version of the song opens and closes with photos of Machu Picchu in Peru, but it includes English subtitles so English-only speakers can understand the song.
In the song, a child asks an elder about the homeland he has never seen. He wants to know what it is like. How do you explain that? Blades does a pretty good job.