Spanish Cooperation Cultural Centres
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Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado
The Cultural Centre of Spain in Panama – Casa del Soldado (CCS/CdS) is a space for encounter, reflection and learning. A place for the transmission and exchange of knowledge, but above all, a space of community in Panama. In the Cultural Centre, community is understood as a place of refuge, somewhere we can escape from the commercial logic that prevails elsewhere and where we can adopt other perspectives, such as liking and listening. The Centre is associated with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and managed by the Panama-Spain Foundation, a non-profit entity with participation by some of the leading Spanish businesses in the country. This Foundation channels private contributions to supplement the funding received from Spanish Cooperation. The CCS/CdS was inaugurated on 18 October 2013 by the Prince of Asturias, now King Felipe VI of Spain. Since then, it has formed part of the AECID Network of Spanish Cultural Centres. The Casa del Soldado de la Independencia, which hosts the Cultural Centre, is an exceptional building nestled in the centre of the Casco Antiguo (historic city centre) of Panama City, near Paseo Esteban Huertas and beside the city wall which once separated the elite from the less favoured sectors. The Centre is one of the few buildings located within the walls of the Casco Antiguo, which makes it both unusual and charming. Today, it is home to an exemplary programme of cultural activities, originating from Spain and from Panama. The building has a concrete structure and wooden floors, and was constructed in the early twentieth century. At the orders of Octavio Méndez Pereira, the then Education Secretary, the Archaeology and History Department of the National Museum was installed here in June 1925. The halls dedicated to History and Ethnography
displayed a priceless collection of pre-Hispanic art which is currently housed in the Reina Torres de Araúz Anthropological Museum. The National Museum was relocated to new headquarters in the 1930s, and its former home was transferred to a charitable organisation for survivors of the struggle to separate what was then the province of Panama from Colombia in 1903. They were known as the “Soldiers of Independence”, and a small exhibition describing this episode was displayed. During the 1990s, the house was transformed into the headquarters of the National Heritage Directorate and, after a period of inactivity, it was restored in 2010 by AECID, with the support of the Panama Workshop-School. In recent years, the Casco Antiguo has been subjected to an aggressive process of gentrification which has radically changed the urban and social structure of the neighbourhood. Therefore, the relationship between the Cultural Centre and the local community is a fundamental part of its outlook, and the Centre undertakes projects aimed at engagement with its surroundings. The CCS/CdS is currently developing a mediation strategy, preparing a project to be implemented in conjunction with the community. The Centre identifies itself with the dynamics and problems of the neighbourhood, and fosters dialogue with its neighbours by promoting school visits, by means of a programme dedicated to working with the children living in the area, and by opening up spaces for debate and reflection. One aspect of the Centre that has remained unchanged since its origins is its encouragement of participation by the general public and by the local artistic community. The Centre has fostered meeting and discussions, and has made itself a home from home for groups of creators, researchers, users and its own personnel. Local participation is a key element in the Centre’s Strategic Plan. This participation is achieved by working with civil society.
