Panama Celebrates Black Culture Month with its Annual Delfile Parade Along Rio Abajo
The rain did not stop them.
Despite overcast skies and inclement weather, the Central American country of Panama celebrated its Black Culture Month, and SRDC Facilitators were there to participate in its culminating parade, as they have been for several years.
Every May, the large Afrikan Descendant population (which we are increasingly referring to as the “Afrikan Ascendant population”) of Panama celebrates Black Culture Month. Back in 2023, this writer was introduced to the celebration when I visited Panama to assist in establishing the Panama Chapter of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) with two community meetings and participation in that year’s Delfile, the Black Culture Month Parade along the Rio Abajo, one of the main throughfares of Panama City. You can read my 2023 account of that visit on the Web site KUUMBAReport Online here, as well as on this Web site here.
SRDC’s Facilitators in Panama, Ras Bukie and Empress Yesury Nurse, who we were honored to meet during the September 2022 SRDC Conference that was held in Panama City, participate every year in this great parade through Rio Abajo. As mentioned above, I was able to experience the Delfile firsthand in May of 2023 thanks to the hospitality of Ras Bukie and Empress Yesury Nurse, and they have been continuing that great tradition. They have been dedicated activists and organizers on the ground in Panama, working to erect a statue of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey in a major public park in the City, traveling to other countries in Central America and the Caribbean to meet with Pan Afrikan global activists, and powerfully representing SRDC as we continue our effort to organize the grassroots Pan Afrikan Diaspora to lift its voice on the world stage.
Below is the message from Ras Bukie commemorating this annual celebration of Afrikan culture and heritage.
Greetings and blessings. I am Ras Bukie.
Today, May 17th, as I prepare to go out to the parade in Río Abajo with the Pan-African Afro-Panamanian community, I pay homage to the SRDC for the work they continue to do and for the great privilege of meeting strong Pan-African leaders such as Professor David Horne, Cliff Kummba, and all the others who are part of this great movement.
Today, I proudly march carrying the banner of the SRDC — promoting Reparations and Repatriation, while also bringing awareness to the Pan-African Conference taking place in Ghana from October 6th to the 9th, 2026.
It is a great honor and responsibility to carry out this duty on the battlefield for such a structured and powerful Pan-African organization.
I give thanks for this great moment — for our heritage, our culture, and the well-being, upliftment, and unity of Black people worldwide.
Rastafari. Blessings and strength.
Check out some photos that were taken from this year’s Delfile Parade here:
