Stef Biemans travels to Argentina’s southernmost tip, and discovers an…
Between the Americas, Ep. 2: Panama’s Echo
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
View on the Pragda STREAM site
Panama seems to be doing well. The economy flourishes and this results in a vertical building drive and an impressive skyline. Biemans visits the colorful neighbourhood at the foot of these buildings and finds out what has changed for the ordinary people of Panama.
Series Description
For a long time, Central America seemed to be on the rise, but opposing forces have hindered any positive developments. There have emerged two Americas, and in between these two visions, journalist Stef Biemans listens to the stories of Central America. Biemans has lived and worked in the region for more than 15 years and brights to light the delicate situation of many Central Americans in a calleidoscope of sounds and stories.
“What we hear and see in Between the Americas is beautiful poetry and deeply disturbing.” — NRC Handelsblad
“This series feels just as colorful and double-edged as a fairy tale. In between the ominous stories,
you can find hope and humanity, just like in a real fary tale.” — Trouw
“A documentary maker wants to portray an unkown area with the sounds of a small recording device.
If I would be in charge of a network I would tell him to get lost. But if the documentary maker is Stef Biemans and the area is Central America, I hope I will have the wisdom to say yes.” — Groene Amsterdammer
Citation
Main credits
Biemans, Stef (film director)
Biemans, Stef (narrator)
Frints, Nicole (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematography, Remco Bikkers; editing, Joël Hielckert & Stef Biemans.
Distributor subjects
Geography; Central America; Culture + Identity; Economics + Social Class Issues; Environment + Sustainability; Latin American Studies; SociologyKeywords
00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:19.920
It sounded like that.
- Scary.
00:00:20.040 --> 00:00:21.960
It was terrifying.
00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.960
This story begins with the sound
of an American machine gun.
00:00:28.080 --> 00:00:30.880
And a bomb being dropped.
00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.320
But there's also a pair of clippers.
00:00:35.400 --> 00:00:37.200
A shovel.
00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.480
A baby.
00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.160
A drill.
And a gamecock called Pedro.
00:00:46.360 --> 00:00:49.720
I'll try to record his crowing.
- Pedro.
00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.880
All these sounds together
tell a story of Central America.
00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:02.200
I've lived in and travelled around
this region for 15 years.
00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.560
Noises are all around you at all times.
00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.240
May I record your voice?
You have a good voice.
00:01:11.360 --> 00:01:14.640
Get your chicheme here.
00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:16.600
We've got chicheme.
00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.000
Thank you.
- You too.
00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.360
God bless.
- Likewise.
00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:26.880
These are happy sounds,
full of joy and rhythm.
00:01:31.240 --> 00:01:34.400
But once, back in the 1990s,
there was the regular sound...
00:01:34.520 --> 00:01:36.680
...of American machine guns.
00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:40.920
There was this storm of gunfire.
00:01:41.880 --> 00:01:46.840
This story is about the echo of
the machine guns in today's Panama.
00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:50.760
It sounds complicated
and a little pretentious.
00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:54.480
But everything will be made clear.
00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:43.760
Dad, I'll sit over there.
- Fine.
00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:04.200
I don't know Panama very well.
00:03:04.320 --> 00:03:08.800
I used to pass by when I travelled
from Nicaragua to the Netherlands.
00:03:08.920 --> 00:03:13.000
I lived in Nicaragua for 15 years
and I watched Panama change.
00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:18.360
From the plane I saw more and more
skyscrapers go up.
00:03:18.480 --> 00:03:21.960
Yes, Panama has changed quite a lot.
00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.600
It changed quickly.
00:03:25.720 --> 00:03:31.600
Is there some kind of vertical obsession
that causes all this high-rise?
00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:34.680
Everything is built up now.
00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:36.360
With a lot of high-rise.
00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:43.640
Wherever you look, you see
these super tall tower blocks.
00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:47.880
I helped build one.
00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.720
Which one?
- That one with the crane.
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:56.920
Until three months ago.
I put in the floors there for a year.
00:03:57.040 --> 00:04:00.920
Then what happened?
- I had problems with my boss.
00:04:01.040 --> 00:04:04.640
What kind of problems?
- He wanted to pay me less.
00:04:04.760 --> 00:04:07.880
And you got angry.
- And now I'm here.
00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.640
I did a few job interviews at first.
00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:17.920
Including at a few building sites.
Nothing.
00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:21.760
So you went back to fishing?
- Yes, I took to the sea again.
00:04:41.880 --> 00:04:45.520
The Panama Canal was
supposed to be built in Nicaragua.
00:04:45.640 --> 00:04:48.280
But Panama ran off with the loot.
00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.880
These houses were built on the clay
dredged from the canal...
00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.800
...for the migrant workers
who dug it.
00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:02.720
But these migrants' houses are now
bought up by major investors.
00:05:02.840 --> 00:05:05.000
For even more skyscrapers.
00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.000
So the lively working-class area
may disappear.
00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:12.440
This gentrification, ironically,
is caused by the prosperity...
00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.200
...brought by a canal
dug by these very workers.
00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:32.600
How do you see the future of this area?
00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:37.400
I think the area will get a nice boost.
00:05:37.520 --> 00:05:41.800
They're building everywhere.
It's all very pretty.
00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:48.280
They're building right across the street.
- Yes, a good-looking building.
00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:51.120
A high one.
- High, right?
00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:57.520
Will it be the highest here?
- Yes.
00:05:57.640 --> 00:06:01.000
Will you be able to live in it?
00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.520
That depends.
00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.800
It depends how much money you have.
00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:12.600
A lot of money comes into Panama,
but there's still a lot of poverty.
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.160
And that isn't necessary.
00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:20.600
Panama is promoted
as the land of skyscrapers.
00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:24.120
But nobody notices...
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:29.120
Maybe you did when you
walked around in this area.
00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.360
So...
00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:34.920
It doesn't match the promotions?
- Exactly.
00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:40.360
Children are dying of hunger
and malnutrition here.
00:06:48.280 --> 00:06:52.200
Do you consider yourselves
rich or poor?
00:06:52.320 --> 00:06:54.840
Something in between.
Not rich, not poor.
00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:56.840
Middle class.
- Yes.
00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:17.640
The clippers. You might call this
the sound of the middle class.
00:07:17.760 --> 00:07:20.880
It's a special sound, because Panama...
00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.480
...has one of the biggest income gaps
in the world.
00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:29.360
We are indignant together about the
gaping chasm between rich and poor.
00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:33.400
As I record some random other sounds...
00:07:33.520 --> 00:07:35.800
...a rooster keeps crowing through them.
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:38.760
Yes, says the hairdresser, that's Pedro.
00:07:40.080 --> 00:07:44.200
He takes me to his flat
over the barbershop.
00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:06.040
Mind your head.
There are nails in that plank.
00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:12.720
I'll try to record his crowing.
00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:15.640
Pedro.
00:08:15.760 --> 00:08:18.200
He'll crow in a second.
00:08:27.840 --> 00:08:34.440
How many gamecocks do you have?
- About fourteen.
00:08:34.560 --> 00:08:39.960
They fight on Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays.
00:08:41.280 --> 00:08:45.120
They keep me pretty busy, those cocks.
00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:49.280
Do you enjoy cockfights?
- Yes, I grew up with them.
00:08:49.400 --> 00:08:54.360
I have six siblings.
Four brothers and two sisters.
00:08:54.480 --> 00:09:00.400
My father was a cockfighting man.
I'm the only one who took it up.
00:09:00.520 --> 00:09:02.920
Is this cock a good fighter?
00:09:03.040 --> 00:09:08.640
This one is three years old already.
His first fight...
00:09:08.760 --> 00:09:10.160
Hey, Pedro.
00:09:10.280 --> 00:09:14.640
He lost his very first fight.
00:09:14.760 --> 00:09:19.320
His opponent slashed his throat.
00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:25.120
I took him out of the fight,
patched him up and trained him.
00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:29.880
Since then he won twelve times.
He killed twelve other cocks.
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.160
Even though he lost the first time.
It was a good lesson for him.
00:09:35.280 --> 00:09:38.200
He'll fight again this month.
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:44.960
Pedro has a good view
of the crane across the street.
00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:49.240
Do you own this apartment?
- I do.
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.880
I bought the plot 24 years ago.
00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.360
Land prices here were still low then.
00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:04.800
But after all these years
the price of land has gone up a lot.
00:10:04.920 --> 00:10:07.960
I have several buyers
who are interested.
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.360
But I'm waiting a bit longer
for the value to increase.
00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:15.720
When that building is finished,
my plot will be worth more.
00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:19.040
How much have they offered so far?
- 300,000.
00:10:19.160 --> 00:10:21.200
300,000 dollars?
- Yes.
00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:25.400
And how big is your plot?
- 35 square metres.
00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.720
That's a good offer then.
00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:34.480
When I retire,
I'll move to the countryside.
00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:38.200
What should the offer be
for you to accept it?
00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.640
500,000 dollars.
- Half a million in your pocket.
00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.800
Won't you miss this neighborhood
if you go?
00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:57.400
No, I'll come back to visit. Once every
three months for a week, or something.
00:10:57.520 --> 00:11:00.560
Say hello to everybody.
00:11:00.680 --> 00:11:05.080
Won't you miss the cocks?
- I'll take them with me to the country.
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:11.200
They have cockfights there too.
Like in each other's backyards.
00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.800
Cockfights often come about
spontaneously there.
00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:20.960
So you'll all be better off, even.
- Sure.
00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.360
And your pension is guaranteed
with this plot of land.
00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.480
Yes. God willing.
00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:49.080
Now we know what connects
gamecocks, clippers and drill.
00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:55.800
The drill allows the owner of the
clippers to sell his Panamanian land...
00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.680
...and have a carefree old age
in the country.
00:15:00.640 --> 00:15:03.480
Together with Pedro the Gamecock.
00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.960
But what do cock, clippers
and drill have to do...
00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.520
...with an American machine gun?
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:33.640
At about a quarter past midnight...
00:15:33.760 --> 00:15:38.960
...we heard sirens and a lot of yelling.
00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:45.000
My sister woke my mother
to say that the world was ending.
00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.720
The world was ending?
- Yes, the sky turned red.
00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.680
Red? How so?
00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:55.440
No idea, but that's what I saw:
a red sky.
00:15:55.560 --> 00:16:00.320
I also saw flashes of light
shooting from one side to the other.
00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:05.600
I guess they must have been missiles.
There were bright lights...
00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.960
...flashing from one side to the other.
00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:10.760
Since the sea is so close...
00:16:10.880 --> 00:16:16.680
...we could also see parachutists
falling from the sky.
00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.600
They jumped from helicopters.
00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:24.800
They dropped out of the sky just like
that. They were American soldiers.
00:16:24.920 --> 00:16:29.200
Quite a lot, really.
Just like little dolls.
00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.760
It was raining dolls.
- From a red sky?
00:16:32.880 --> 00:16:36.600
Yes, the sky was red.
00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:39.000
I'll never forget that.
00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.600
Do you remember the sounds?
- Yes.
00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:43.960
What were they like?
- Very loud.
00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:49.360
The noise was so loud
that the houses were shaking.
00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.680
Tanks were coming down the streets.
00:16:52.800 --> 00:16:56.520
I'd never seen a real tank before,
only on TV.
00:16:56.640 --> 00:16:59.520
Our floors were vibrating.
00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:05.360
That was the sound of tanks passing by.
00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:07.760
They went like...
00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:13.320
And suddenly it was 'bam'.
A bomb fell on the military barracks...
00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:17.360
...of Noriega's police unit.
00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:24.000
It sounded like a massive thunderbolt.
00:17:24.120 --> 00:17:30.200
Did you hear machine guns too?
- I did, further down there.
00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:35.640
It sounded like that.
- Scary.
00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:39.560
It was terrifying.
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:44.440
There was a gun fight between
the Dignity Battalions...
00:17:44.560 --> 00:17:48.600
...which were the Panamanians
who supported Manuel Noriega...
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.680
...and the Americans.
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.440
It was a lot like the movie
Fast & Furious.
00:17:58.360 --> 00:18:00.920
There was this storm of gunfire.
00:18:16.600 --> 00:18:21.560
Officers, soldiers and civilians
in the command post:
00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:26.800
You are completely surrounded
by US armed forces.
00:18:32.560 --> 00:18:33.960
He was hit.
00:18:34.080 --> 00:18:40.640
The bullets split him down the middle.
Dreadful. He was my childhood friend.
00:18:40.760 --> 00:18:45.960
There was a guard in the watchtower.
He was killed too.
00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:49.240
That was even worse.
His guts had come out.
00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:52.440
A tank had hit the tower full-force.
00:18:52.560 --> 00:18:58.160
How old were you then?
- I was 10 when the invasion took place.
00:18:58.280 --> 00:19:04.120
Pretty shocking for a ten-year-old.
- Very shocking, yes.
00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:08.760
So, that's how it sounded.
- Thank you. Have a nice day.
00:19:58.800 --> 00:20:02.040
Chorrillo was burning like Berlin
00:20:03.360 --> 00:20:05.160
You lost the rhythm.
00:20:06.600 --> 00:20:08.280
Let's go again.
00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.080
it was next to the command post
00:20:17.080 --> 00:20:21.440
so even the pictures of Ismael
were burned
00:20:21.560 --> 00:20:24.720
in the shadows
a general stood
00:20:24.840 --> 00:20:28.360
the kind who hands in his machete
without fighting
00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:32.400
we must always remember
those who are no longer here
00:20:32.520 --> 00:20:37.360
now and forever, brothers
we must never forget
00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:40.480
for El Chorrillo and Panama
00:20:54.160 --> 00:21:00.520
Do you think the invasion was
a good thing for Panama in the end?
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:05.600
Look, the Americans paid us
a pittance for the canal.
00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.120
They paid a million dollars a year.
00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.040
Now we know the canal brings in
a billion dollars a year.
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:15.280
Yes, they helped.
Yes, they drove the oppressor out.
00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:19.000
And yes, they did a lot of
bad things too.
00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:23.840
But those in power today
are even worse than the Americans.
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.800
They are thieves
with even bigger claws.
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:34.040
They're no better than gangsters.
They're robbing Panama blind.
00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.080
We lost a billion dollars already.
00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:40.200
You were better off with the Yankees?
- Definitely.
00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:44.480
All these old folks
worked for the Americans.
00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:49.360
We drank expensive beer.
We had good food.
00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:53.640
I have insurance and I'm entitled
to a pension.
00:21:53.760 --> 00:21:58.360
Look what amount
they intend to give me.
00:22:00.520 --> 00:22:03.480
56 dollars.
So I can't stop working.
00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:07.800
I have a family to provide for,
two children.
00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.800
This is your whole pension?
- Yes.
00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.480
Wait a second.
00:22:14.600 --> 00:22:18.920
He skipped someone.
It wasn't his turn.
00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:46.760
I once brought my young son
to the oldest bar in town here.
00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:48.760
The Café Coca-Cola.
00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.760
With a glass?
- No, a straw, please.
00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:55.200
Thank you.
00:22:55.320 --> 00:22:59.680
I told him that Fidel Castro
and Che Guevara had sat here...
00:22:59.800 --> 00:23:03.080
...planning the Cuban revolution.
00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.920
I wanted to explain how
communism and capitalism...
00:23:08.040 --> 00:23:10.560
...had affected Latin America.
00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:14.720
It was probably a bit much
for a seven-year-old.
00:23:14.840 --> 00:23:18.240
But he was pretty pleased
I gave him a Coke.
00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:37.120
Let's go, we're having
a little clean-up.
00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.160
We're taking to the streets again today.
00:23:40.280 --> 00:23:45.520
To show the authorities that we
need it to be clean here...
00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:48.400
...and that we want new dumpsters.
00:23:48.520 --> 00:23:52.760
This is Alex Cortez, from Colombia.
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.720
She's responsible for
social media marketing.
00:23:56.840 --> 00:24:02.400
Miroslava, the Panamanian superstar.
As seen in a Netflix series.
00:24:02.520 --> 00:24:04.640
This guy is an actor too.
00:24:04.760 --> 00:24:07.840
And some local residents who help us...
00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:13.280
...take responsibility for our own lives
by keeping the streets clean.
00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:18.560
Is the symbolism of the Café Coca-Cola
important for you?
00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:23.000
In a way, yes.
00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:27.400
Traditionally it has always been
a gathering place for activists.
00:24:27.520 --> 00:24:30.640
Che Guevara, Fidel Castro
and other revolutionaries.
00:24:30.760 --> 00:24:34.080
But you're not communists
or socialists?
00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.080
No, on the contrary.
00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:43.920
We are simply citizens who say:
'We ourselves are the solution.'
00:24:44.040 --> 00:24:50.040
We're not Coca-Cola capitalists,
nor communists or socialists.
00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:53.320
We are regular citizens...
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:57.000
...who want to be responsible
for the area they live in.
00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:02.480
Barak, an Israeli developer,
leads a group of hipsters...
00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:06.800
...whose Insta page describes them
as 'tigers of cleaning.'
00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.920
Due to the pattern of their leggings.
00:25:10.040 --> 00:25:12.440
They regularly clean this area...
00:25:12.560 --> 00:25:15.960
...where the invasion took place
and the cranes are now.
00:25:16.080 --> 00:25:20.480
Boss. Here you go.
- Great.
00:25:20.600 --> 00:25:22.360
Do you want gloves?
00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.880
Wear the green ones.
00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:28.560
This brings us to the sound
of the shovel.
00:25:33.040 --> 00:25:35.960
The sound of good intentions.
00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:38.880
Thanks.
00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:44.440
Greetings to my friends
of the municipal cleaning services.
00:25:44.560 --> 00:25:48.400
You are my pals because
you follow me on Instagram.
00:25:48.520 --> 00:25:52.040
I'm not sure though
if this initiative had existed...
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:55.800
...had the cleaning tigers not
invested money in the area.
00:25:56.800 --> 00:25:58.280
Careful.
00:25:59.800 --> 00:26:01.200
Yes, like that.
00:26:03.120 --> 00:26:05.560
What's your interest
in this neighborhood?
00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:13.240
We bought a few parcels of land
in this area.
00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:18.120
The land near those buildings,
for example.
00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.640
How many houses have you bought?
- Dozens.
00:26:21.760 --> 00:26:23.480
Dozens?
- Yes.
00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:26.480
Is that why you want the area
to be clean?
00:26:26.600 --> 00:26:31.840
It's true that a clean neighborhood
is important to me, but...
00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:35.800
Hey, come here a sec.
00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:38.640
Look who it is.
00:26:38.760 --> 00:26:40.160
How are you?
- Fine.
00:26:40.280 --> 00:26:41.800
Hi. My hands are dirty.
00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.760
Have you come to help?
- Sure.
00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:49.880
This is one of the best artists
in Panama.
00:26:52.280 --> 00:26:55.320
What will you do
with the buildings you bought?
00:26:55.440 --> 00:27:00.960
Wonderful things. Panama
is headed for a glorious future.
00:27:01.080 --> 00:27:06.160
This is the main city in the
whole area between Mexico...
00:27:06.280 --> 00:27:09.360
...down to Peru and Brazil.
00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:15.200
It's the people who make a city, not
the buildings. The people come first.
00:27:15.320 --> 00:27:20.240
Are you against gentrification then?
- No, not really.
00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:23.240
But you mustn't pass the people by.
00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:25.720
We can't drive out the locals...
00:27:25.840 --> 00:27:30.440
...because it's they who make the area
so colourful.
00:27:30.560 --> 00:27:36.480
The music, playing dominoes, haircuts
in the street. It makes people happy.
00:27:36.600 --> 00:27:43.960
We decided, instead of complaining
or sending letters...
00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:46.720
...that nobody acts on anyway...
00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:49.640
Here come the authorities
on motorbikes.
00:27:51.560 --> 00:27:54.600
Driving around, yes. Cleaning, no.
00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:16.200
What are the photographs for?
00:28:16.320 --> 00:28:19.360
For our social media channels.
00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:25.280
For Instagram?
- Yes, for Instagram.
00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:56.080
Okay, let's go.
00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.040
A mere 50 metres away from
the full dustbins and the cranes...
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:11.600
...we find Panama City's historic centre.
00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:14.640
The eager sounds of construction
are heard here too.
00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:20.360
Everything is spruced up and sold on.
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.760
There aren't many Panamanian
residents anymore.
00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.640
Nobody knew the word 'gentrification'
here.
00:29:30.760 --> 00:29:33.880
There's no word for it
in the Spanish language.
00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.640
Bu then a group of squatters
put up a banner.
00:29:37.760 --> 00:29:43.080
They occupy an old school building
that many developers are after.
00:29:44.840 --> 00:29:47.480
This used to be a school?
- Yes.
00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:50.920
And now you live here?
- Yes.
00:29:51.040 --> 00:29:54.520
Why?
- We were evicted.
00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:58.960
The house that I lived in...
00:29:59.080 --> 00:30:03.640
...was sold and turned into apartments.
00:30:03.760 --> 00:30:07.080
And now you live in this school?
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:11.640
What's it like to live in a school?
- It's not very nice.
00:30:11.760 --> 00:30:14.840
Not very nice?
What's not nice about it?
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:18.360
We have no privacy.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:20.120
In the bathroom.
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.320
Are you all on top of each other?
- Yes.
00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:26.480
Et cetera.
- Et cetera.
00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:31.280
May I come in to have a look?
- Sure.
00:30:35.040 --> 00:30:36.520
Thank you.
00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:52.520
The school building is occupied
by ten evicted families.
00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:58.800
It's an act of peaceful resistance
against the rising house prices.
00:31:01.040 --> 00:31:06.560
The eldest squatter is at the front door
in case the police want to come in.
00:31:09.280 --> 00:31:13.120
There's a parakeet,
and the sound of a fan.
00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:18.000
Children usually produce a lot of noise.
00:31:18.120 --> 00:31:20.600
Nobody complains about the baby...
00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:23.040
...or about the TV that is always on.
00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:30.320
Camera footage shows police violence
against the residents of a building...
00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:34.960
...where the police gathered
for an eviction.
00:31:35.080 --> 00:31:39.920
Our cameras witnessed
the violent police actions...
00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:44.040
...against the angry people in the street.
00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:46.240
They used pepper spray...
00:31:46.360 --> 00:31:50.880
...without a care for the children
present at the scene.
00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:53.280
Take the baby to the hospital.
00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:56.040
This is pure abuse of power.
00:31:56.160 --> 00:32:00.040
They sprayed my baby
with pepper spray.
00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:02.760
We're taking him to the hospital.
00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:11.760
Did you decorate the house
so beautifully yourself?
00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:13.880
Yes, little by little.
00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.800
You have quite a lot of pictures.
00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:21.680
Were they in the house
you were evicted from?
00:32:21.800 --> 00:32:24.040
Yes, they were there too.
00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.080
How long have you lived here?
- We moved in in November.
00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:36.040
You must have been one of the first
to live in this school.
00:32:37.560 --> 00:32:42.600
How are you all?
- We're fine, thank heavens.
00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:45.120
Under the circumstances.
00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:52.920
There's a lot on your walls.
Boats, animals, diplomas...
00:32:53.040 --> 00:32:55.600
My husband took various courses.
00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:59.600
Is that the Chrysler Building?
00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:02.440
No idea what building that is.
00:33:02.560 --> 00:33:05.120
Would you live
in a skyscraper like that?
00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:09.640
Who wouldn't? Of course I would.
00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:12.280
What would it be like?
00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:18.400
I'd prefer one of the upper floors.
Because of the views.
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.760
With a roof terrace, so you could
go out for some air...
00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:28.120
...and nice views of nature.
00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.880
I'm all sweaty.
00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.080
You look sad now.
00:33:52.600 --> 00:33:58.560
We lack comfort here,
but we'll manage.
00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:09.680
Why is it important for you
to live in the old town?
00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:14.240
They want this to remain
a historic area.
00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:19.880
If they're so keen to preserve
the local historic character...
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.520
...they should have poor people
living here too.
00:34:24.640 --> 00:34:31.640
But house prices are really steep
because so many rich people move in.
00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:37.040
And they don't want to look at
washing lines on the façades.
00:34:38.680 --> 00:34:43.120
The poor give the neighborhood
its atmosphere, right?
00:34:43.240 --> 00:34:47.080
The rich have more problems
than the poor sometimes.
00:34:47.200 --> 00:34:51.360
That's why we say here:
Even the rich weep.
00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:55.120
I often eat rice and egg, for example.
00:34:55.240 --> 00:35:00.800
While they eat rice and steak,
with a nice salad.
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:03.960
So what? I enjoy my rice and egg.
00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:10.640
And they don't enjoy their food.
They have too many worries.
00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:15.760
Like debts. A lot of rich people
have debts.
00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:27.040
With a little left-wing imagination,
the poor Panamanians...
00:35:27.160 --> 00:35:32.680
...are like a helpless baby
hunted by a capitalist bird of prey.
00:35:36.040 --> 00:35:40.400
From its ivory tower
it looks for cheap land.
00:35:40.520 --> 00:35:44.960
But no, that would wrong the baby
as well as the bird.
00:35:45.080 --> 00:35:48.280
Talking about each other
instead of with each other...
00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:52.120
...makes the divide between
rich and poor only bigger.
00:35:53.120 --> 00:35:58.400
What I also noticed here is that the poor
and the rich don't speak to one another.
00:35:58.520 --> 00:36:03.120
They have their own areas, schools,
and shopping malls.
00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:07.960
Do you see yourselves as rich people?
00:36:08.080 --> 00:36:10.200
No, we're not rich.
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:14.880
I don't know the top level of wealth, but...
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:22.240
...we climbed up from the middle class
to the upper class.
00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:26.080
Are you millionaires?
- I wish.
00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:32.520
I might have a million in real estate.
00:36:32.640 --> 00:36:34.480
But I don't have...
00:36:34.600 --> 00:36:39.280
Is the question if you're millionaires
an awkward one for you?
00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:45.240
Let me put it this way:
We worked hard for our retirement.
00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:48.720
But I can't shop at Prada...
00:36:48.840 --> 00:36:52.440
...and buy thousand-dollar shoes
just like that.
00:36:52.560 --> 00:36:55.120
We need the outlet for that.
00:36:55.240 --> 00:36:59.720
So no, I'm not a millionaire.
Millionaires go to Prada to buy shoes.
00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:03.960
I go to Miami sometimes
and I cross the US. That's all.
00:37:04.080 --> 00:37:08.880
You're not millionaires but you're...
- Middle class.
00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:12.960
Upper middle class.
00:37:13.080 --> 00:37:14.840
Not millionaires.
00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:20.200
Do you think all Panamanians benefit
from the economic growth?
00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:27.720
No. Our country has a top layer
of very privileged people.
00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:31.800
If you could ask
a poor Panamanian a question...
00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:35.360
...what question would it be?
00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:43.680
Why don't you want to escape poverty,
or why can't you manage to do so?
00:37:47.080 --> 00:37:53.040
Why don't I want to escape poverty,
or why can't I manage to do so?
00:37:53.160 --> 00:37:57.720
I tried.
I wish I knew how.
00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:04.080
It's not exactly easy.
With the salaries and everything.
00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.200
Who wouldn't want to have money?
00:38:09.320 --> 00:38:12.880
Of course we want to have money too.
00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:17.760
Who knows what the future will bring.
My grandson might get rich.
00:38:17.880 --> 00:38:23.680
He might be a baseball player.
- And rake in a fortune.
00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:25.960
Granny's wheel of fortune.
00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:35.040
I think God saves us the best for last.
00:38:38.240 --> 00:38:40.800
This is Kaytlin, eight years old.
00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:46.200
She doesn't want to be filmed
but she wants to be in on everything.
00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:52.000
Whenever we're in the school building,
she looks on from a distance.
00:38:52.120 --> 00:38:56.120
If I try to talk to her,
she runs away.
00:38:56.240 --> 00:39:01.360
But one day she wants to know what
I'm doing with that recording device.
00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:05.600
I tell her I'm building a bridge
between rich and poor people...
00:39:05.720 --> 00:39:07.760
...but I'm not very successful.
00:39:07.880 --> 00:39:12.160
She says she has always wanted
to say something to the rich.
00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:20.480
Make sure to always stay rich.
00:39:20.600 --> 00:39:25.200
Because if your money runs out
one day...
00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:28.920
...because you've bought too much stuff...
00:39:29.040 --> 00:39:31.600
...then you'll be poor.
00:39:33.040 --> 00:39:35.680
Advice instead of reproach.
00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:38.160
I'm learning something here.
00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:53.800
My collected sounds of Panama
do not exactly tell a happy story...
00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:56.280
...of a country that's developing.
00:39:57.400 --> 00:39:59.160
I hear echoes from the 1980s...
00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:03.400
...and see a country struggling with
the heritage of a dictatorial past.
00:40:03.520 --> 00:40:07.920
we must always remember
those who are no longer here
00:40:08.040 --> 00:40:10.640
for El Chorrillo and Panama
00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:15.080
I don't see progress,
but gentrification.
00:40:15.200 --> 00:40:20.520
Why don't you want to escape poverty,
or why can't you manage to do so?
00:40:20.640 --> 00:40:24.640
My failed attempt to get two worlds
to listen to each other...
00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.720
...only seemed to create
more lack of understanding.
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:30.400
I know what the answer is:
00:40:30.520 --> 00:40:33.160
They don't want any commitments...
00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:36.440
...they don't want to take responsibility...
00:40:36.560 --> 00:40:39.120
...and they don't want to be educated.
00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:46.240
I never thought one shy girl would
so accurately hit the nail on the head.
00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:52.360
If your money runs out one day
because you've bought too much stuff...
00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:54.920
...you'll be poor.
00:40:55.040 --> 00:40:59.160
Dear Kaytlin,
thank you for your good advice.
00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:04.400
I will be careful with my money.
And I also want to tell you something.
00:41:04.520 --> 00:41:11.760
You are only rich or poor if that is
how you feel and how you experience it.
00:41:11.880 --> 00:41:16.120
You're rich when you have friends
and love other people.
00:41:16.240 --> 00:41:18.880
It's not about a fat wallet.
00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:21.240
It's about having love in your heart.
00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:24.440
Wealth is studying.
Wealth is working.
00:41:24.560 --> 00:41:29.200
It's good food.
It's being together with others.
00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:31.800
Talking, laughing and playing together.
00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:36.440
Sharing things, making friends.
That is true wealth.
00:41:36.560 --> 00:41:38.720
Inner happiness.
00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:42.200
True wealth is made up
of many beautiful things.
00:41:42.320 --> 00:41:44.680
Everything else is unimportant.
00:41:47.520 --> 00:41:50.080
Let's go. Let's go.
Distributor: Pragda Films
Length: 42 minutes
Date: 2023
Genre: Expository
Language: Dutch; Spanish
Grade: Middle School, High School, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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