From January 2 to 6, 2026, the Macaracas District, in the province of Los Santos, will become the meeting place for Panamanian folklore with the celebration of version 53 of the Canajagua Folklore Reunion, one of the most representative and most deeply rooted cultural events in the country.

The event, to be held under the reign of S. M. Kiriam from the Ángel Pérez Vásquez, will bring together folk groups, musicians, dancers, artisans and bearers of tradition, who will give life to a great agenda of artistic presentations, parades, cultural samples and activities for the whole family.

According to José Gutiérrez, president of the Board of the Folk Meeting of Canajagua "this celebration aims to highlight and safeguard the traditions and folklore of the region, emphasizing its value as guardians of cultural practices that, in some cases, face the risk of disappearing." He also emphasized the active participation of the youth of Macaracas and of surrounding communities as a guarantee of the generational continuity of these expressions.

The meeting will start with traditional activities of old, including the crockery of the house, pyladeras competitions, seedling, mural, accordion and drum competitions, as well as cantaderas, screams and salomas, as well as traditional parades of carts, that evoke the history and daily lives of the ancestors of the region.

The practice of the "Board of Embarra," forms part of the activities that bring together youth and the community, promoting participation with solidarity, by benefiting a family with few resources from the Macaracas District with the construction and improvement of its housing.

One of the most important moments of the program will be the representation of the Drama of the Holy Kings, next January 6, an event that enriches the encounter and strengthens its cultural projection at national and international level, positioning Macaracas as an epicentre of a tradition that integrates the popular theater, music, orality and immaterial cultural heritage of Panama.

José Alberto Sosa, national director of Folklore at the Ministry of Culture, noted that supporting this meeting "means supporting a vision of a country that recognizes culture as an expression of our identity."

The event is organized by the Board of the Folk Reunion of the Canajagua with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the people of Macaracas and keeps alive a tradition of 200 years, and through the Board more than five decades ago, promoting cultural memory, community meeting and an appraisal of our nation's intangible heritage.

For five days, Macaracas will open its doors to national and foreign visitors, who will have an opportunity to live closely with one of the most true and representative celebrations of Panamanian folklore.