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About
Carla Smith
Carla Smith was born in 1958 and grew up with her mother and grandmother in the old Canal Zone. Carla learned English from her grandmother, who was from Jamaica, and it was also from her that she learned to love her West Indian roots. Music was present in Carla’s life from a very early age. She grew up listening to classical music and to Roberto Ledesma. She takes pride in her identity as a black- West Indian woman, and believes it is important to preserve the language and the cultural traditions of the West Indian people. Carla worked in the Administrative office of the Panama Canal for twenty years. She is currently married to a pastor from the Methodist Church.
About
Eduardo Smith
Eduardo Smith was born in 1948. He grew up in a poor neighborhood. His grandparents were from Barbados. Eduardo worked at the Panama Canal all his life and is now retired. He has been a preacher of the Methodist Church for thirty years and really enjoys music, especially calypso, classical, and religious music. He is currently married and has three daughters from his first marriage. He is very proud of being Afro-Panamanian and is particularly proud of holding West Indian values. Eduardo believes that it is very important to remember where we come from, and we must work hard to preserve and promote the values and costumes of our ancestors.
