Written on February 21st, 2011 by corakent2 shouts
This is the week so many folks in Boquete have been waiting for – BOQUETE’S 5th ANNUAL JAZZ FESTIVAL!
Jazz musicians from Canada, United States and Panama will gather at the BCP Theater in central Boquete to present three days of world-class musical entertainment. Band members will be hosted in Boquete by local residents and hotels throughout the area, and all their meals will be provided for them during their visit.
I, as the “Boquete Gourmet”, just had to get involved with providing a “Welcome Dinner” and a couple of the lunches during their visit. What to serve such distinguished guests would be an interesting project for me.
The first dinner would need to be prepared by our local tamale chef, Betty Rivera. Betty’s tamales are the best typical Panamanian dish that any visitor to Boquete could hope to enjoy. Betty contributed her “famous” recipe to the “Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook” and it’s one of the recipes that takes a complete page to describe.
Notice that Betty’s tamale is wrapped in banana leaves, not corn husks. These tamales take 24 hours to make from dried corn pieces, not an easy project for Betty. When the diner opens the leaves, a lovely soft block of cooked corn meal and chicken appears, just right to be covered with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, chopped apples, cole slaw and any number of the many flavors of hot sauces available in Boquete.
Tamales are the most popular dish to serve in Boquete at any meal time, it’s typical Panamanian style cooking, just exactly right for these very talented jazz musicians from Canada. For dessert, I’ll make up a big batch of Snickerdoodles, easy to grab and run to their next performance.
I’d better have lots of cold Panama beer on hand for them as well, don’t you think? Talk about fine Boquete Jazz Festival Fare!
Enjoy the festival!
Cora
Written on February 22nd, 2010 by corakentone shout
The Boquete Jazz Festival begins this week and it’s going to be the best year ever! The big events are held at the outdoor amphitheater in Valle Escondido, a beautiful community near the town center in Boquete, Panama.
Each year, the Boquete Jazz Festival invites jazz artists from different parts of the world to play in Boquete. Residents and visitors await the arrival of these talented musicians in late February each year.
The jazz festival occurs over a 4-day period, beginning on Thursday, February 25. There are complimentary teaching events scheduled on Friday and Saturday, February 26 & 27 at the BCP Theater, featuring the Jon Day Quartet and Francisco Buckley, Jr.
The Outside Jazz Band, Francisco Buckley, Jr., Bannaba Project de Panama, Kurt & Norman and Jon Day’s Quartet are the big headliners. Other groups will be playing all around Boquete during these days, including a performance in the park on Sunday, beginning at 11:00 m.
But why all the murals? Because no lover of jazz can go away from Valle Escondido without seeing and appreciating the many lovely murals throughout the property. How can you separate music and art?
On your way to the amphitheater, be sure to stop inside the chapel to see the mural of Boquete and Volcan Baru on the far wall. If you walk up close to it, right up next to the nudes standing by the river, you can actually hear the river running. It’s the most wonderful mural I have ever seen and heard!
Walk around the buildings on your way to the Boquete Jazz Festival events and appreciate the museum-quality artwork that graces many of the walls. What appears to be molding along the bottom of this waterfall scene, is part of the mural.
You’ll love hearing the jazz bouncing around the valley. And, as you’re enjoying the sounds of Boquete, you’ll know that not only the jazz is special, you’ll enjoy more hidden beauty that surrounds you, if you look for it.
“And all that jazz”, from my favorite movie, “Chicago”.
Cora
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