A few days ago, I spoke with Anabel Miranda who is a native of Panama and an adopted daughter of Costa Rica, mainly from Hermosa, Jaco.
Anabel is of indigenous descent. Her paternal great-grandmother belonged to the Ngäbe-Buglé group, an indigenous population in Panama, by the way, she did not speak much Spanish.
“They were very simple people, workers of the land,” said Anabel.
Anabel also has a bit of Chinese heritage from her maternal great-grandparents, that is, she comes from a “very varied, mixed, and very nice” family. She considers that she has received a lot from different cultures.
She has always lived in Panama City. Her father was born in a province called Chiriqui and Her mother in a province called Cocle, that is to say, they were not originally from the city.
Anabel’s grandparents lived in the interior of the country, a place called Puerto Armuelles, which is very close to the border with Costa Rica.
The Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous group is also in the country ¡Pura Vida!
“I am currently living in a reality where I cannot only be very, very proud of my roots but elevate and exalt this culture that is so important. In my country (Panama), although Indigenous people are so integrated into society, they still use somewhat derogatory words to refer to them, as if the fact of being Indigenous is seen as less” expressed Miranda.
“I am currently living in a reality where I cannot only be very, very proud of my roots but elevate and exalt this culture that is so important. In my country (Panama), although Indigenous people are so integrated into society, they still use somewhat derogatory words to refer to them, as if the fact of being Indigenous is seen as less,” said Miranda.
Memories, traditions, and longing
When Anabel visits Pavones (Costa Rica) and observes the people, “the women dressed in those petticoats, it reminds me not only of my Indigenous people but also of my family, who also used to walk like that”.
She has very nice memories of when they went to visit her paternal grandfather in the mountains, “we had the opportunity as children, the cousins, to go to harvest with him, pick bananas, oranges, ride horses, spend all day cooking in front of the firewood, the mud and dirt floors, very simple people, very big hearts and very humble houses, they were made of wood and the sunlight filtered into their spaces”.
They had a way of life very connected to the land and besides them, always ready to help those who needed it: her grandmother was a midwife, she helped the indigenous women who came down from the mountain to give birth or she sometimes went up to help them.
Among her gastronomic memories, Anabel shared when her grandmother cooked the chickens they had in the house, “we ate the eggs, the rabbit that my grandfather hunted, she made many different dishes with bananas, because that is the land of bananas, like here in Costa Rica, then (bananas) could be made sweet or salty, ripe or green banana, you could eat it any way you wanted”.
They ate corn in all its forms, from corn chicha without fermentation and a food similar to a tamale but watery, “a spectacularly delicious thing and tortillas in all forms: in Panama they eat fried tortillas, roasted tortillas, all cooked over firewood”.
They really enjoyed the green plantain, boiled green banana, which Anabel continues to cook.
Healing with plants and pure love
Anabel’s grandmother cured her grandchildren’s tummy and spirit with herbs: rosemary, peppermint, “they gave us head baths. It is something I have brought into my life and the older I get, the more I connect with the teachings of my grandmothers”.
She doesn’t forget the teaching of eating very naturally and not wasting anything.
“I have a lot of pride because to this day I still wear clothes that my grandmother sewed; I would have liked to learn more from her, but she has been gone for many years now” she added.
Anabel and her contributions in Costa Rica
Anabel is a Yoga teacher, she sings and always transmits the best vibes wherever she goes.
Today, she continues to work with the Resonance Costa Rica team and the Alianza Soberana foundation; she provides a valuable contribution in the Cultura Ancestral event, spaces where the exchange of knowledge and energy of the various indigenous groups are totally unique.
It turns out that Anabel, after meeting Daniel Yepez, founder of Resonance, founding member of Alianza Soberana and director of Cultura Ancestral, at an event, they had a feedback regarding medicinal plants, especially ayahuasca.
She currently works full-time with Resonance, “everything very nice together with them”.
“Maria, I am part of Cultura Ancestral in many spaces. I am very honored to be able to participate in projects like these because, number one, I have an indigenous family and through the work with Resonance and the medicinal plants, I have become much more connected with that part of me that for many years I didn’t highlight so much,” said Anabel.
Through Cultura Ancestral, Anabel and the wonderful organizing team, have the purpose of elevating the value and wisdom of the indigenous people and give them a space so that they can transmit that wisdom that they present as medicine for generations, “in this moment where we are so saturated with drugs and networks, we need to reconnect with mother earth and they are the portal for that”.
This year an indigenous representative from Panama will be attending, which makes Anabel even happier.
There will be many activities within the event, through gastronomy, art, music and sacred ceremonies, those present will live a special experience, undoubtedly unique.
Beyond everything, we felt very comfortable talking with Anabel, who is an indigenous descendant and today maintains part of the culture and traditions that her grandparents and parents left her.
