Vibrant Livin', Lovin' Via Argentina

The seat of cute little coffee shops, authentic cuisine from immigrant populations, and happy hour/lunch specials with boards luring customers in for deals. It is reminiscent of my favorite US city, (outside of my home city), Miami. The boards on the storefront telling you about today’s special or their restaurant’s specialty, the old men with big bellies smoking Cuban cigars, the young professionals enjoying a drink after a “hard day’s work,” the soccer fanatics watching Panama versus X, the wanderers like me. All of those things make Via Argentina an exciting place and my newest home in Panama City. It’s poppin’. 

arepas will be the death of my shape, lol.

sugar daddy belly

I can remember living in a space that I dreaded. That was back in college at Towson Run Apartments. Not sure if it was the time in my life and what the space represented, or if it was merely just the space that I had an issue with. But I seriously remember how scared I was to be there, especially alone. Something about that place just didn’t sit right with me then. I have learned in my life that my home, place of residence and certain rooms inspire different things for me. So forever neighborhoods, apartments, homes, flowers, plants, spaces, rooms, ambiance will always be something I take into deep consideration as I travel from place to place.

One year ago when I moved to Panama (le sigh…it’s been over a year already), I had noooo idea where I would live. I imagined living a little more low-key than I actually did; I had no expectation of living in a high rise in the city. In fact I thought I might just get a room in some older melon-painted apartment building and not have wi-fi, and not be in touch with my friends and family. When I arrived to Panama however, I saw that my living would be a little more uppity than I expected. Not exactly bougie, but just more than I anticipated.

I canvassed my new co-workers about areas that were close to my job in Paitilla. They told me I could live in San Francisco, Obarrio, Bella Vista, and a few other little pockets. I visited two apartments in San Francisco and one place in Cangrejo, which is a part of Bella Vista. Although people had informed me that El Cangrejo was a cool place to live because it was highly populated by foreigners, I desired to live amongst Panamanians, so I opted to for a room in an apartment with a nice view in San Francisco. (This failed because San Francisco was highly residential and there were few spaces for interaction with Panamanians or the local community.)

As time went on I began to spend more and more time at my friend’s apartment in Cangrejo. (Yes, the same Cangrejo that I once turned my nose down on because too many foreigners lived there, lol.)

And just like your typical boy/girl next-door love story, (the kind where you meet the guy and don’t like him at first because he is not your type), I fell in love---madly, deeply, head-over-heels in love with Via Argentina. I vowed to find a place there to live within my budget. I searched in November. I sort of searched in December. Couldn’t do it in January. Forgot about it in February. Revisited the idea in March. Couldn’t afford it in April. Got too comfortable in May. Moved out in June. Summer in the DMV. Returned in August. Went back on the search and…

can you see the glow of love? :)

A year later, I am now one of the expats living, and I mean living that street. I am motivated by the hustle and bustle of the trendy area. I meet and chat with people that I run into as a I stroll.  I feel empowered by the fact that I can just walk outside of my building to Fruteria Mimi and buy one avocado, one plantain, coconut water, and a piece of chocolate all for $3.00. Gone are the days where I would be lugging my week’s groceries from the neighborhood grocery store, sweat dripping, dreading the fact that if I forgot something I would have to walk back. Gone are the days where I would postulate taking a taxi back to my apartment after grocery shopping but end up walking. Now my days are filled with ideas about what I want to eat daily---and the best part of it, I can literally just hurry down the steps and go to the Fruteria or Casa de Carne if I need something that goes beyond the scope of your local mini market.

For the days when I don’t feel like cooking a full meal for myself, [which the frequency of these days has been increasing steadily], I can float down Via Argentina and peruse the menus while I wait for my palate to jump at the idea of a particular taste. On lazy days, I opt for an imported Hass avocado and a French baguette. J

Flip flops, $5.00, ID in-hand, I breeze down Via Argentina in my flowy skirts. Midriffs, braids caressing my waistline, I feel liberated; feels good to be the new girl on the block.