The festival in Bugaba is an all day (all weekend) affair. There are a lot of happy people having fun. The bull ring is used for various functions (and political speeches). The bull running started at 4:00 PM. The Cavalgata was scheduled to start at 3:00 PM. In true Panama fashion, it started around 4:30 PM. But it was closer to 5:00pm by the time it got into its stride. Of course, once the beginning of the parade laps the end of the parade, there is no beginning and end.
The parade goes first to the Municipal building to collect the flag, and then to the bull ring where many more horses attach themselves to the throng. After that, the parade becomes a crowd pleasing mass of equine movement with happy (read rowdy) horsemen and horsewomen showing off some of the finest horseflesh in Chiriqui.
The parade is led by a truck bearing a brass band (a very loud brass band) surrounded by horses and followed by a drinks bearing truck surrounded by riders on horses, and a food truck surrounded by horses and well-oiled riders.
Brave pedestrians mingle and pass among the horses surrounding the band truck, the drinks truck, the food truck, and the fireworks truck... the entire assemblage is followed by hundreds of horses, which in turn are followed by hundreds of people. The food (usually meat and fried yuca) and drinks and fireworks are (in theory) for the benefit of the horse riders, but there are prodigious quantities of everything.
I’m going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
Text written by Chiriqui Saddle Club member. This is a new riding organization in Boquete, Panama. For more information, or to join: e-mail ron@vitechnicalservices.com
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