About Portobelo

Those familiar with Portobelo describe it as a village full of magic, mystery, and miracles with a magnetic force that attracts visitors. Even the origin of its name is shrouded in myth. Some say that on Columbus' fourth and final voyage to the New World, he visited Panama's Caribbean shores. The magnificence of Portobelo's vegetation and the depth of its bay seduced him to enter and inadvertently name it. The sea weary admiral was so smitten by the splendor of her beauty and the protectiveness of this natural harbor that he exclaimed que porto bello, Italian for what a beautiful harbor.

For many sea weary Africans, Portobelo was simultaneously the end of the horrid Middle Passage and the beginning of slavery in a foreign land. The Congos of Portobelo are descendants of the cimarrones-runaways-who fiercely fought for their freedom during the Spanish colonial period. After escaping into the hills and the rain forests, the cimarrones built fortified villages known as palenques from which they waged war against their former enslavers. So successful were they in war that the Spaniards were forced to declare several truces, and finally recognize their freedom.

Oral history in Portobelo also tells of a crate containing a black sculptural figure of Jesus Christ "magically" appearing in the bay during a cholera epidemic. It was brought ashore by two fishermen. Shortly after, the people of the village began praying before the figure and the epidemic miraculously ended. As a result, each year for the last three centuries, the Feast Day of the Cristo Negro de Portobelo - Black Christ of Portobelo - has been celebrated by as many as 60,000 devotees who make pilgrimages to visit the figure on the 21st of October.

About Taller Portobelo

Taller Portobelo has its beginnings in the 1970s when photographer Sandra Eleta opened her home in Portobelo to artists and friends as a place to make art, engage in critical discussions about art and aesthetics, and exchange creative ideas. In the early years, Taller Portobelo was known as Grupo Portobelo--Portobelo Group. Inspired by the history and beauty of the region, these artists began collaborating with people in the village on important projects, including films, videos, audio-visual projects, theater, music and dance.

In 1982 with the assistance of Juan Dalvera, a Panamanian poet and painter, Taller Portobelo began operating a very successful women's cooperative that produced high fashion clothing that were exported to other parts of America and Europe. This venture also served as a vehicle to re-ignite interests in the craft of quilting that the elder women of the village had preserved. The Taller became known for producing clothing with beautiful geometric designs, as well as naturalistic forms in brilliant colors that reflected the rich flora and fauna of the region. Taller Portobelo also served as a workshop for making the robes for the Cristo Negro de Portobelo-- the Black Christ of Portobelo; provided studios for designers, photographers and painters; as well as, the set for several Congo performances.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Sandra Eleta, Yaneca Esquina and Arturo Lindsay established a painting workshop at the Taller as an artist cooperative dedicated to the remembrance of the cimarrones and the preservation of their traditions and those of their descendants in works of art. While a numbr of artists have participated, a core group consisting of Virgilio "Yaneca" Esquina, Jeronimo Chiari, Gustavo Esquina de la Espada, Ariel "Pajarito" Jimenez, Virgilio "Tito" Esquina, Manuel "Tatu" Golden, Reynaldo Esquina, Jose "Moraito" Angulo, Sandra "La Bruja" Eleta, Fahamu Peco and Arturo "Fuga-Fuga" Lindsay continue to work as members of Taller Portobelo. In the late 1990s The Ahijada/o Fellowship program was created in order to provide young artists and art professionals an opportunity to work at the Taller while gaining teaching and administrative skills. Today Ahijada/o Fellows are established arts professionals that have established Taller Portobelo Norte that sponsors artist residencies for emerging and mid-career artists.

Today the facilities of Taller Portobelo consist of the studios of Eleta, Lindsay, the Congo artists, a small gallery, and housing facilities for artists, students and invited guests. In 1997, Taller Portobelo became the home for the Spelman College Summer Art Colony.

To see an interactive presentation of the work of the Taller Portobelo artist, click here
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