Beyond the written word and photographic evidence, how does one keep history alive? For the Guna people of northern Panama, community theatre emerges as a potent form of cultural documentation and preservation. This vibrant documentary directed by Duiren Wagua, who hails from the same Indigenous community, traces a vital tradition that breathes life into monumental events from the past.
The year 1903 marked the separation of Panama from Colombia. But with this independence came fresh conflicts, as the new Panamanian government refused to recognise Tulenega Shire, an autonomous Indigenous territory formed in 1870. The Guna people were subjugated under racist laws designed to erase their culture and pillage their land of resources. In February 1925, the local population, women included, took up arms in what is known as the San Blas rebellion against Panama’s soldiers, a courageous fight that brought about independence for the region.
Every year since that fateful day, generations of Guna people have gathered to stage on spirited re-enactments of the battle. Wagua’s dynamic camera plunges us into the midst of the festivities: arrayed in traditional clothing, the attendees light up the streets with the flags of the uprising, fashioned in red and yellow. Some of the recreated scenes are brutal, evoking the bloodshed suffered by the Guna fighters.
At the same time, it is vital that these remain family events, where children get to learn about a revolution that might not be adequately covered in history books. Most notably, the theatrical ceremonies are crosscut with interview segments, where community elders relay stories of the struggle; these in turn were passed down from their grandparents. In truth, the transitions between these sequences are occasionally disorienting, especially for outsiders trying to understand the timeline of events; but this juxtaposition is a way of merging various styles of oral history, cementing the importance of their existence alongside official, state-sanctioned narratives.
• Bila Burba is on True Story from 28 November.
