Last Sunday, July 4, 2021, a group of 11 members and friends of KSI enjoyed an interesting tour of Casco Antiguo with Wendy Tribaldos, a museologist and educator specialized in Panamanian history.
This tour, called Cuentos del Casco, started at the Iglesia de la Merced, which is the oldest building in the Casco Antiguo, located at the entrance of what was the walled city at the time.
The group also visited other sites of historical interest, such as Plaza Herrera, San José Church (where the mythical golden altar is located), La Compañía, Arco Chato, Plaza de Francia and Las Bóvedas, the National Theater, San Francisco de Asís Church and Plaza Bolívar, and finally Plaza Catedral.
Tribaldos shared with us that Casco Antiguo is the second settlement of Panama City, after the first one, today known as Panama La Vieja, was burned and destroyed by the Spanish in 1671, trying to protect it from Henry Morgan’s plunder.
Another interesting fact that was revealed to us is that the gold altar of the San José Church, built at the beginning of the 20th century, is not made of gold; it only has a gold leaf covering. Also, the legend that it was protected by a priest during the sacking of Panama La Vieja by Henry Morgan, is just a legend.
To close the tour, a providential ecumenical meeting took place between Rabbi Gustavo and the Archbishop of Panama, Monsignor José Domingo Ulloa.
Thanks to the high quality of the tour and the good feedback received from the participants, we will be announcing another call for a new tour in the coming weeks.
