Panama, Primed

Every year on Oct. 21, the Congos join a massive pilgrimage to Portobelo, a beautiful little port 20 miles northeast of Colon. Once the site of important trade fairs in the colonial era, Portobelo is now best known for a simple rural church that houses the iconic figure of a black Christ. As a salsa fan, I often heard shout-outs to the "Cristo Negro de Portobelo" in recordings by the late Afro-Puerto Rican singer Ismael Rivera, a powerful influence on Blades and other artists from the big salsa boom of the 1970s.

I couldn't leave Panama without making my own pilgrimage there, as Rivera had often done. The transcontinental trip would take a little more than an hour each way by car, cutting through the rain forest on the highway that parallels the canal.

The Mass I attended was peaceful and uplifting, with hymns that echoed popular tropical melodies and African call-and-response choruses. Outside, people sold souvenirs and counterfeit CDs of Rivera's hits, including one of his best, "El Nazareno," inspired by the purple-cloaked Christ figure. A nearby museum houses robes given to the saintly statue by the faithful, including Rivera and Panamanian boxer Roberto Duran.

I had no idea that on the last night of my trip, the black Christ would take on a special meaning for me too.

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The fun in funky

AS a city, Panama's capital is also struggling to find an identity.

Its high-rise skyline on the waterfront is reminiscent of Miami. Its fortressed historic center jutting into the sea, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its crumbling colonial buildings, Havana. Its congested streets and touristy craft stores, downtown Tijuana.

Geographically, the serpentine metropolis hugs the crescent coastline of Panama Bay, spreading out its attractions from the modern Amador Causeway on the west to the ruins of the original old city, Panama Vieja, on the east.

This is not a city that invites you to walk. It's a little difficult to get your bearings here, because Panama is the place where the continent turns sideways, placing the oceans north and south.

To get around, I admit, it helps to be on a first-name basis with \o7El Ministro\f7.

Blades, whom I've known for almost 30 years, had his staff at the Panamanian Institute of Tourism lead me to the best spots for good local music. Many tour operators and taxi drivers can also direct you to hot local venues, which are listed in visitor guides and daily newspapers, if you know what you're looking for.