A walk down any busy street will be enough to convince a visitor that Panama moves to the rhythm of music. It blares from car radios and bus sound systems, from shops, in malls, everywhere you go. Some of it is the latest local and international pop music but mostly the air is filled with the sound of tropical salsa which has its origins deep in the history of the country.

Panamanian typical music comes from folklore and traditional trends influenced in one way or the other by European dances and African drums and chants.

It all started when the Spanish conquerors arrived on the isthmus in the early part of the XVIth Century. Music was part of the long journey made by sailors who brought styles and dances such as flamenco and pasodoble, tap dance or "zapateo" known today as "mejorana" dance, accompanied by rustic guitars played by gypsies.

During the XVIIth, XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, many African slaves were brought to America; Panama was part of the trade.

The slaves brought with them their homemade drums and chants that were heard on docks as well as in tobacco and sugar plantations.

Panamanians adopted these rhythms and created fusions such as tamborito, tamborera (the result of Cuban son and danzon with tamborito), punto, denesa, cumbia chorrerana, mejorana, zaracunde from the provinces of Los Santos and Herrera, bunde, bullerengue from the province of Darien and the congos from Colon on the Atlantic-Caribbean sector.

The Spanish influence merged with African rhythms. Today, decimas (ten line verses) are similar to those from Spain and are sung backed by guitars. These ten line verses reflect the feeling of the common person in the streets.

Dances, above all, are choreographed with African movements as in the case of congos from Colon. The tamborito is played with the small drums known as bonko chemiya in Cuba, with roots in a bigger African drum known as "yucca". The rhythm is danced by women dressed in colorful "polleras" and sandals wearing golden jewelry and men with stylishly adorned white "guayabera" shirts, the "montuno" hat known also as "pintao" or "junco" and sandals made of brown black and white leather. Female vocalists interpret the solo voice called "saloma", similar to the gypsy chants accompanied by a chorus.

Another aspect of Panamanian typical music are the "Diablitos Sucios" (Dirty Devils) dressed in colorful outfits and masks who tap dance as they clap with the Spanish castanuets. These dances represent good against evil and the struggles that indigenous groups had with the conquerors.

Another key instrument in Panamanian typical music is the accordion. The first one arrived on the isthmus in the 1830's made in Germany with keys but the one adopted in Panama in the 1950's for dancing purposes is the one known as the "diatonic" accordion with buttons. This instrument replaced the violin, which led the melody section accompanied by the small typical drum, flute, guitar and guiro (the latter made of calabash vegetable and played with a small stick).

Every year, Panamanians in the central provinces of Los Santos and Herrera, celebrate the Mejorana Festival which was founded in 1949. Contests such as "Gelo Cordoba" for musical bands, "Colaco Cortez" for fiddlers, "Gumercindo Diaz" for drummers, "Manuel F. Zarate" for "decimas" authors, are part of the events.

Panamanian typical music arrived from the interior to the capital city and the traditional roots started a process of fusions, such as the "urban cumbia", a blend of tamborito and salsa styles at the beginning of the XXIst Century promoted by Sammy and Sandra Sandoval.