Culture and traditions in Bocas del Toro

Explore the cultural heritage of Bocas

Culture of Bocas del Toro, a melting pot

Bocas del Toro is a beautiful cultural melting pot. Here you can find Afro Caribbean people that immigrated from Jamaica, San Andres and other Caribbean islands during the past centuries. Also one can still find beautiful indigenous from different tribes, being the Ngobe the most abundant. Other tribes are Teribe, Guaymi, Bri Bri, Cuna ( immigrated from San Blas Islands ) ..

Music, festivals, traditions...

The islands of Cristobal and Popa still have people living in their original lifestyle. Ngobe build their homes from Palm Tree Leaves ( The roofs ) and from a special wood called Jira. Some of the local indigenous people have to struggle with the economic change. Most of them live from small artesanal fishing and women take care of the home duties. However, some women make beautiful crafts sometimes for sale in the islands.