Thursday, 25 January 2018 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: South America / Südamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 3minutes
Penonomé is the capital of the province of Coclé with a populaton of 20,000. The town is located along the Inter-American Highway in the wide, flat lowlands of central Coclé. Especially for Carnival and the national festivals, the otherwise quiet city turns into a colorful spectacle with numerous open-air discos and lively street parades.
Penonomé was founded in 1581. The name of this town comes from the words “penó Nomé”. Nomé was a chief of a local Native American tribe who resisted the Spanish conquistadores and was put to death by colonial officials. “Penó Nomé” means “Nomé was punished.” The town was the capital of Panama for a short period after Panama City was sacked by Henry Morgan in 1671.
Local legend (unknown origin) has it that Penonomé was a chieftain in love with an indigenous woman named Zaratí. His tribe didn’t want him to marry and so told him that his beloved had drowned. Trying desperately and without success to find her, he threw himself from a bluff, crying out “I’m coming Zara!” Hence the names of the Zaratí River and Penonomé (“Penó Nomé” in Spanish meaning “Nomé mourned”, with subject and verb inverted).
The Catedral de Penonomé and the municipal government office (Casa de Gobierno) are located on the town’s central plaza. The town also has a small museum, El Museo de Penonomé, which is often closed. The town has two main shopping streets, Avenida Juan Demóstenes Arosemena and the Inter-American Highway along the edge of town.
[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Café Europe, Café d'Europe or also Café Europa was a cultural initiative of the Institute of the Regions of Europe (IRE) during the Austrian presidency of the European Union, held on Europe Day (9 May 2006) in 27 cafés of the capitals of the then 25 EU member states and the two countries which would join the Union in 2007. Vienna, the capital of Austria, is well known for its long and vibrant café culture, dating back from the first introduction of coffee to Europe as a result of the wars with the Ottoman E...
