Once again, the Taste of the Barrio project of the Ministry of Culture (MiCultura) welcomed the palate of the thousands of attendees who met on Saturday, January 21 at the City of Knowledge Quadangle to enjoy the closing performance of version 20 of the Panama Jazz Festival.

The rice in all its varieties, complemented with steamed chicken, baked, scattering fish, choulette, saus were part of the menu offered by the about ten culinary entrepreneurs that belong to this MiCultura project and that for more than fifteen years has been the gastronomic offer of the main concert of the Jazz Festival.

The thousands of viewers who have come to enjoy this event organized by the Danilo Pérez Foundation have been able to get to know through videos the Orquestas Network project and the story of children and youth who have transformed their lives through music.

Likewise, while they consumed their flavour products, they enjoyed a varied sample of Panamanian crafts of all ethnic and beautiful handmade jewelry pieces.

The closing event had a gallery of artists that from earlier hours of the afternoon have been offering a great musical repertoire to put before the guest artist of the night, known as "The Gentleman of the Salsa," Gilberto Santa Rosa, where they have been dancing and chilling each of his songs.

"Here we are feeding the spirit and senses through music, it's good to see thousands of people reunited with this jazz vibration, confirming that Panama is the capital of jazz, applause for all Panamanian people," Giselle González Villarrué said and addressing the public at the stage.

The highest cultural authority congratulated Danilo Pérez for making history during these 20 years of continuous celebration, expressing "there was not even a pandemic that put an end to this, I thank you on behalf of the national government, but as a Panamanian with all that wonderful construction that you are making, definitely that music transforms us."

The opportunity was advanced to announce the results of the music exchange offered by the Panama Jazz Festival at the musical clinics where Shamira Torres, Cristine Innis, Emily Campos and María Ángel González, the latter from Santiago de Veraguas, were awarded scholarships to study music with for 5 weeks at Berklee College of Music.

Also, the New England Conservatory of Music awarded Pilar Imojez the Jazz Lab Fellowship, who will have an opportunity to gain music skills at this artistic centre in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.

According to Patricia Zárate, Executive Director of the Panama Jazz Festival, throughout these ten years more than 5 million scholarships have been awarded to young Panamanian people with the aim "that these will be multiplier agents of the great philosophy that underlies the work of the Danlo Pérez Foundation that is to transform through music and form better human beings."

I thank the national government through the Ministry of Culture, the Mayor's Office of Panama, the Tourism Authority and the embassies of the United States, Israel and El Salvador for believing and joining as sponsors of the Panama Jazz Festival.

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