e owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of

The canyon of gleaming glass and steel towers lining Calle 50 in Panama City would be a convincing stand-in for downtown Miami until an army of old American school buses, basted in decorative murals and flashing lights, comes barreling through the business district. Nearly two thousand colorful buses roam the capital’s streets, many coated with paintings of religious icons, pop culture heroes and the refrains of Panamanian street philosophers. The ‘diablos rojos’, or ‘red devils’ are not only rolling pieces of art, they are the backbone of the peculiar public transportation system in an increasingly modern capital. Yet with a sleek articulated-bus system to replace the ‘diablos rojos’ beginning next year, this unique form of urban artistic expression along with the artists who create it may soon begin to disappear from Panama City.

The first appearance of personalized transportation in Panama came in 1911 when primitive wooden buses known as ‘chivas’ were ‘baptized’ with family names painted on the side, a practice which was dismissed by the authorities. By the late 1960’s, beefed up U.S. school buses appeared and their individual owners wanted to show off their prized workhorses on the streets. “This city expresses its culture and beliefs through outlets like the bus painting, much in the way murals do for other cities, except these ones happen to move,” explained Raul Leis, a prominent Panamanian sociologist and writer who has closely studied Panama City’s urban art. “Unlike the rich tradition of pollera dresses, folk festivals, and artisinal craftwork found in the interior of the country, there is very little outlet for popular culture born here in the street.” Much like graffiti artists in cities around the world, these bus painters are not considered true ‘artists’ by the Panamanian art community, instead viewed by most as creators of ‘clandestine’ art. “Ironically, more people are exposed to this art than art they’ll ever see in a museum,’” said Leis * * *

Behind a gas station at nondescript body shop out near Tocumen airport sits a blindingly colorful school bus parked in a large outdoor truck bay. A small army of painters, some just teenagers with artistic talent plucked straight off the street, are at work covering it in neon colors and intricate murals. The shops premier painter, Rolando, 32, works attentively on a bus that has taken a month to complete. Rolando is one of less than ten ‘master’ painters in Panama who make a steady living transforming used American buses into decorative city transport. “When I was twelve, I liked to draw and started doing graffiti around the neighborhood,” recalls Rolando. “One day, this guy notices my paintings and says, ‘come by my auto shop, I want you paint for me, and I’ll buy you whatever supplies you need’”. Rolando started decorating buses after school every day, and by sixteen had developed enough style to paint an entire bus by himself. “If you’re an artist here, and you can draw, you don’t have a lot of choices to get by except by painting buses.”

Down the road from Rolando is the home of Andres Salazar, a widely respected fifty-one year old bus painter with more than thirty years of experience. “I paint portraits as well I do sculpture, but more than anything I love decorating buses,” said Salazar, who is known for his photorealistic portraits painted on the back of many buses in the city. Beyond the constant hum of the air-brush compressor motor, his large front yard is filled with an assortment of tightly packed buses in different stages of completion.

Buses are bought from the secondary market and shipped from Miami, most are faded-yellow with the names of the school districts they served still on the side. Transforming this into a ‘diablos rojo’ presents a formidable challenge for a painter, so a decorative job can cost anywhere from $400 for simple lines and blocks to thousands of dollars for full murals and designs both inside and out. And, much like a tattoo artist will work on the same client time and again, a bus is often painted little by little as the owner’s vision and budget expands.

The look is a collaboration of the owner’s desires on how to personalize their prized bus and the painter’s artistic imagination. When an owner comes with a bus, certain things must be established by the painter: Is the bus a male or a female? What is the name of the bus? Most buses are named after the wife, brother, or girlfriend of the owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of p

appeared and their individual owners wanted to show off their prized workhorses on the streets. “This city expresses its culture and beliefs through outlets like the bus painting, much in the way murals do for other cities, except these ones happen to move,” explained Raul Leis, a prominent Panamanian sociologist and writer who has closely studied Panama City’s urban art. “Unlike the rich tradition of pollera dresses, folk festivals, and artisinal craftwork found in the interior of the country, there is very little outlet for popular culture born here in the street.” Much like graffiti artists in cities around the world, these bus painters are not considered true ‘artists’ by the Panamanian art community, instead viewed by most as creators of ‘clandestine’ art. “Ironically, more people are exposed to this art than art they’ll ever see in a museum,’” said Leis * * *

Behind a gas station at nondescript body shop out near Tocumen airport sits a blindingly colorful school bus parked in a large outdoor truck bay. A small army of painters, some just teenagers with artistic talent plucked straight off the street, are at work covering it in neon colors and intricate murals. The shops premier painter, Rolando, 32, works attentively on a bus that has taken a month to complete. Rolando is one of less than ten ‘master’ painters in Panama who make a steady living transforming used American buses into decorative city transport. “When I was twelve, I liked to draw and started doing graffiti around the neighborhood,” recalls Rolando. “One day, this guy notices my paintings and says, ‘come by my auto shop, I want you paint for me, and I’ll buy you whatever supplies you need’”. Rolando started decorating buses after school every day, and by sixteen had developed enough style to paint an entire bus by himself. “If you’re an artist here, and you can draw, you don’t have a lot of choices to get by except by painting buses.”

Down the road from Rolando is the home of Andres Salazar, a widely respected fifty-one year old bus painter with more than thirty years of experience. “I paint portraits as well I do sculpture, but more than anything I love decorating buses,” said Salazar, who is known for his photorealistic portraits painted on the back of many buses in the city. Beyond the constant hum of the air-brush compressor motor, his large front yard is filled with an assortment of tightly packed buses in different stages of completion.

Buses are bought from the secondary market and shipped from Miami, most are faded-yellow with the names of the school districts they served still on the side. Transforming this into a ‘diablos rojo’ presents a formidable challenge for a painter, so a decorative job can cost anywhere from $400 for simple lines and blocks to thousands of dollars for full murals and designs both inside and out. And, much like a tattoo artist will work on the same client time and again, a bus is often painted little by little as the owner’s vision and budget expands.

The look is a collaboration of the owner’s desires on how to personalize their prized bus and the painter’s artistic imagination. When an owner comes with a bus, certain things must be established by the painter: Is the bus a male or a female? What is the name of the bus? Most buses are named after the wife, brother, or girlfriend of the owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of

he street, are at work covering it in neon colors and intricate murals. The shops premier painter, Rolando, 32, works attentively on a bus that has taken a month to complete. Rolando is one of less than ten ‘master’ painters in Panama who make a steady living transforming used American buses into decorative city transport. “When I was twelve, I liked to draw and started doing graffiti around the neighborhood,” recalls Rolando. “One day, this guy notices my paintings and says, ‘come by my auto shop, I want you paint for me, and I’ll buy you whatever supplies you need’”. Rolando started decorating buses after school every day, and by sixteen had developed enough style to paint an entire bus by himself. “If you’re an artist here, and you can draw, you don’t have a lot of choices to get by except by painting buses.”

Down the road from Rolando is the home of Andres Salazar, a widely respected fifty-one year old bus painter with more than thirty years of experience. “I paint portraits as well I do sculpture, but more than anything I love decorating buses,” said Salazar, who is known for his photorealistic portraits painted on the back of many buses in the city. Beyond the constant hum of the air-brush compressor motor, his large front yard is filled with an assortment of tightly packed buses in different stages of completion.

Buses are bought from the secondary market and shipped from Miami, most are faded-yellow with the names of the school districts they served still on the side. Transforming this into a ‘diablos rojo’ presents a formidable challenge for a painter, so a decorative job can cost anywhere from $400 for simple lines and blocks to thousands of dollars for full murals and designs both inside and out. And, much like a tattoo artist will work on the same client time and again, a bus is often painted little by little as the owner’s vision and budget expands.

The look is a collaboration of the owner’s desires on how to personalize their prized bus and the painter’s artistic imagination. When an owner comes with a bus, certain things must be established by the painter: Is the bus a male or a female? What is the name of the bus? Most buses are named after the wife, brother, or girlfriend of the owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of

ortraits painted on the back of many buses in the city. Beyond the constant hum of the air-brush compressor motor, his large front yard is filled with an assortment of tightly packed buses in different stages of completion.

Buses are bought from the secondary market and shipped from Miami, most are faded-yellow with the names of the school districts they served still on the side. Transforming this into a ‘diablos rojo’ presents a formidable challenge for a painter, so a decorative job can cost anywhere from $400 for simple lines and blocks to thousands of dollars for full murals and designs both inside and out. And, much like a tattoo artist will work on the same client time and again, a bus is often painted little by little as the owner’s vision and budget expands.

The look is a collaboration of the owner’s desires on how to personalize their prized bus and the painter’s artistic imagination. When an owner comes with a bus, certain things must be established by the painter: Is the bus a male or a female? What is the name of the bus? Most buses are named after the wife, brother, or girlfriend of the owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of

e owner. “Beyond what the owner asks me to put on, most of the art is from my imagination, and often has a theme” said Salazar. On the bumpers, catchphrases pulled from Panamanian popular philosophy are hand painted in neon colors. From tough-guy expressions of “Nadie me mata” to the owners belief in unity like “Ni razas, ni reyes, todos somos iguales”, the soapbox is on the bumper. The rear of the bus is often reserved for the faces of prominent national and international political figures, folk heroes, the owner’s family members, and current stars of music and film, from Gandhi to Harry Potter to Daddy Yankee. Buses are covered on the inside as well, often with day-glo murals on the walls; adornments take things a step beyond with flashing neon light strips or hoods covered with ornamental decorations and iridescent lights. * * *

“The golden age of the ‘diablos rojos’ was from ‘83 to ‘94, when the quality and quantity of art and decorations was astounding,” said Abdiel Cortes, the young owner of a beautifully painted bus. Unfortunately, high fuel costs, stiff competition, and the temptation of putting advertising on buses have driven the steep decline in the number of buses with art on them around the city. Yet the force that may make the biggest hit to the art form is the forthcoming modernization of the bus system. With the gradual phase-out of hundreds if not thousands of traditional buses, very few painters may survive the expected drop-off in business.

A longstanding government desire to modernize public transportation in the capital is now on track after being derailed for years. The plans call for an initial system of three bus routes with articulated buses, which may closely resemble the TransMilenio in Bogot?, Colombia. The $300-million dollar project will cover more than 50 kilometers in the city center on routes currently handled by the ‘diablos rojos’. With the government contract expected to be awarded to a prominent foreign contractor this fall, the first route is projected to open in December 2007. With air conditioning, big windows, and ad placards, a new bus system will forever change the look and texture of Panama City’s streets. Yet the ‘diablos rojos’, with their day glo coating of English and Spanish-language philosophy, European-esque landscapes, and intricate murals, speak volumes about the capital’s multi-cultural identity. “I listen to the radio, or read things, and whatever is happening, I’ll try to put it on the bus,” said Salazar. “The art on these buses the language of our streets.”