< strong > National Fairy of RAMPE ARTESANIES RECOGNITED with A MILLON OF DOLARES IN VENUE and APPROPRIATE 50 MIL VISITANTS < / strong >

A total of 9900.043.59 sales and an attendance register of 48,956 thousand visitors, including 779 people with disabilities, was the result of the forty-third version of the National Crafts Fair (FNA) that was held from 26 to 30 July at the Atlapa Convention Center and brought together about 430 artisan from across the country.

Prior to the opening of the fair, which for the first time was the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and the first face after three years of suspension following the Covid 19 pandemic, the president of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo and the Minister of Culture, Giselle González Villarrué have inaugurated the event and at that event was first awarded the San José 2023 Decoration, receding at the figure of the "Artisan Master" of West Panama, Edgard Castro Castillo.

It should be noted that the FN in its version 43 was dedicated to the expressions and dances of Corpus Christi that are held in seven provinces of the country, that it was declared as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Humanity of the UNESCO.

The occasion was an opportunity to give recognition to the associations, groups of dances and organisations, that through research and documentation have helped to enrich and strengthen the inventory of these manifestations entered in the Repository List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the UNESCO and that have accompanied us at the event, and have been present at all pavilions, providing teaching for tourists and national.

During the course of the five days of the fair there were presentations of folkloric groups of children and adults, among them are outstanding each of the dades of devils that are part of the festival of Corpus Christi. In addition to several competitions held for the first time as the contest of the Camisilla in honor of Edilia Castillo, they have been awarded the design made by Carlos González, modeling by Jaime Pérez.

While the typical Panamanian feminine suit, the pollera was outstanding at the Polleres with Labores contest, in which Lourdes Batista with a pitted pollera made by the artisan Yeira Córdoba earned the prize María García Cedeño, name given to this contest.

For the first time at FNA, the Teatro La Huaca of ATLAPA was another stage that housed a varied cultural program that included the presentation of the National Ballet of Panama with a folkloric gala, a fashion parade called "Ancestral hereses" with colorful dressings from Panama's indigenous peoples and the presentation of the different programs of the Network of Orquestas and Youth Coros of Panama.

Other attractions were the Mapombra made of raw salt dyed with the image of San José, patron of the artisan and workshops about the arrangement of the pollera to the traditional usanza presented by Guadalupe Cañizales, where step by step shown the use of the garments and accessories.

It should be noted that the fair had, for the first time with a pavilion of artisan experiences, where great and boys could have been brought from a seatplate designed to suit them, a design with body painting, a production of a salt carpet, among other types of artisan techniques.

The training activities included about 20 workshops and training sessions for artisan and general public that gave participants tools that they will apply to their products. In addition to guided tours with 2,000 students from different levels of public and private schools from the provinces of Panama and Panama West, they have been more interested about the work our artisan do.

The fifth and final day began with a mass officiated by Bishop of Chitre, Rafael Valdivieso, who emphasized the value of the work that artisans do by highlighting the skills of the artisan in the use of all possible elements to generate crafts with different details, indicating "the beautiful things they produce are remarkable."

Also awarded were the "Highlights Crafts" that was awarded at Orlando Rodriguez, from the province of Chiriquí, who made a kind of jeweler in the form of a beautiful violin. Also, 19-year-old Marilyn Pimentel from the community of San Martín earned the best "Young Crafts" with a cross-tipped sample.

The day saw two emotional moments, with an announcement by Minister González Villarrué about the selection of the 16-year-old girl, Luz Loaiza, a high school student at the Panama Academy of Science for the Future who was chosen from 900 students to participate in the program: "She's an astronaut," where she will have an opportunity to have workshops at NASA's Space Center.

Another episode was the recognition of the teacher and folklorist Dolores Cordero, for her trajectory with respect to "artisan folkloric research" who has been collecting and working with the definition of the country's crafts.

At the main stage there was a parade of performances of typical music sets such as Benjamin González, Osvaldo Ayala, Samy and Sandra Sandoval, Jhonathan Chavez, Alejandro Torres and exponents of the 10th sung as well as the choice among the exhibiting artists who participated at the fair to be Queen Artesana 2023, gain by popularity Paula Cajar from the province of Coclé. Likewise, Minister Giselle González Villarrué gave a recognition to the Panamanian rock music group, "Los Rabanes" for his nomination to the Emmy awards.

To this version, first organized by the Ministry of Culture, the artisan participants were housed at hotels close to the espicentre of the fair as well as offering them the internet so that they could get their corresponding payments through the local banks' transfer platforms and thus reiterate their commitment to dignify the artisan for his contribution to highlighting his contribution to national identity.