Panama August 15, 2026.With the participation of 32 delegations from different regions of the country, Chitre was the stage this Saturday of the First Fest of Dairy Dance, a day that brought together music, masks, costumes and traditional dances and that had as one of its most significant moments the return of the diablicos Cleaner of Chitre, a cultural expression that returns to the streets of the city as part of a process of rescue and transmission of this tradition.

Delegations from Dolega, Colón, Anton, La Villa de Los Santos, Parita, Penonomé, Chipo, La Chorro, Garachiné and other communities participated in the meeting, each with its own forms of interpreting tradition, characters, masks, costumes, music and movements.

One of the most awaited moments was the presentation of the diablicos Cleanses of Chitre, whose return represents the recovery of a traditional demonstration linked to the cultural memory of this town and once again referred to the new generations.

The rescue of this dance has been made possible by the work of bearers of tradition, dancers, musicians, researchers, cultural managers and members of the community, who have helped to gain knowledge related to the characters, movements, music, costumes and other elements that characterize this expression.

More than the return of a grouping, the recovery of the diablicos Cleas represents an opportunity for children and youth to know and learn a tradition of their community directly from those who have preserved and practised them.

The festival also allowed for a meeting between different generations and communities with these events, creating a space to share knowledge and to visualize expressions such as Clean Dines, dirty diablicos, great Denses, Mirrors Denses, Denses de Pañuelos and other variants present at different points of national geography.

For the Ministry of Culture, these meetings contribute to the protection, promotion and dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage by generating spaces where communities can practice, transmit and share their traditional knowledge and expressions.

The First Dairy Dance Festival put at Chitre an image that sums up the goal of the day: a tradition that goes back to the streets, generations that learn from its bearers and communities from different provinces that are found to celebrate the diversity of Panamanian culture.