Twenty years leading to cultural entrepreneurship

At all national and foreign locations throughout the world they are excited to visit the place of sale of crafts, perhaps to get to know more about the country, to have a memory, to enjoy creativity and especially to contribute with the local economy, being a great attractiveness of tourist promotion, and this is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Culture (MiCultura) has been leading the project "The Artesanal Market Casco Antiguo" for 20 years.

The project that met on March 18 two decades of providing a space and opportunities for artisan of all fields and all ethnic groups is put into place by the Office of the Casco Antiguo (OCA) that, according to its records, for 2022 February to December among the artisan that participated have been generated gain by a total of B /. 162,8400.00.

That celebration is of great significance because March 19 corresponds as an ephemeric of the Day of the Artisan, a date dedicated to the artisan, established by Act 11 of February 22, 2011, as well as to coincide with his Festivity in honor of St. Joseph, father of Jesus, whose profession was to be a carpenter.

More than 165 artisan rotates throughout the year in this "commercial" that takes place from Thursday to Sunday, from 10: 00 a.m. to 6: 00 p.m. in different spaces of the Casco Antiguo, mainly at the Cathedral Square exhibiting their crafts and sharing with the visitor more about our customs and traditions through their products.

The Artisanal market of the Casco Antiguo have been a tourist space for the last 20 years. The vivid colors of embroidered fabrics and clothing, beautiful paintings and fine designs in pieces of jewelry, unique accessories and other products have been found by the visitor with an infinity of products made by hand and with raw materials that are still prepared using ancestral techniques.

Also, among the benefits that this project has been offering to the artisan participants, it's an opportunity to sell their products at several festivals where MiCultura is present, such as Panama Jazz Festival, Macrobest, Urban Fest, Fleva Urbana, Primavera's Festival - National Government and Private Organization events.

"At every commercial level, we have to recognize the use of natural raw materials and an awareness of the care of the environment and in balance with culture as a result of their national and international commercialisation and their families dedicated to the trade, representing most of them their first cultural activity with a gender perspective, as they represent most of them in the commercial industry," said Yesenia Sánchez, director of the OCA.

Additional to this project of an incentive for the artisan, MiCultura, with the National Handicraft Management conduct training and training sessions so that they can be formalised and a variety of benefits as an exemption from tax on raw materials and an opportunity for financing, among others.