Summary.
The bill grants international festival status to the existing Manito Ocueño Folklore Festival, held each August in the distrito de Ocú, provincia de Herrera. It notes that the festival was declared to be of national interest under Law 53 of December 1, 1999. The stated purpose of the Manito Ocueño International Folklore Festival is to promote, preserve, and present the cultural heritage of Panama’s inland communities. The bill calls for local, national, and international participation while retaining the celebration’s traditional, folkloric, and educational character.
The festival would continue to be organized and administered exclusively by the governing association known as the Patronato del Festival del Manito Ocueño, a legally constituted nonprofit entity. The association would remain directly responsible for programming, invitations, promotion, and execution of the event. The bill assigns supporting roles to public institutions while requiring them to respect the association’s autonomy and governance in carrying out those roles.
The State, through the Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo) and the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), would allocate an annual amount from each institution’s budget to the festival. Each institution’s allocation would be no less than seventy-five thousand balboas (B/. 75,000.00). The money would be used exclusively for financing, promotion, logistics, participation by national and international delegations, and the festival’s cultural development. Municipal contributions, private sponsorships, cultural agreements, and international cooperation could supplement the fund. Those additional sources would neither replace nor condition the mandatory state contribution.
The Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Authority of Panama (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá) would provide technical assistance, national and international promotion, and institutional support, while respecting the association’s autonomy and governance. The bill also authorizes the Patronato del Festival Internacional Folclórico del Manito Ocueño to enter into agreements with public or private entities, whether domestic or foreign. Such agreements would have to preserve the festival’s cultural integrity, traditional values, and original purposes.
The bill amends Article 4 of Law 53 of December 1, 1999. Under the proposed wording, any association member duly selected or chosen by their organization or sector could hold any position on the festival’s governing board for a term of two (2) years. Upon its establishment, the board would adopt internal rules covering the administrative and technical aspects of the association’s operation. Those rules would have to be based on the provisions of the law. The bill then reiterates the amendment and sets its commencement for January 1 of the fiscal year following its promulgation.
The proposal concerns the distrito de Ocú and provincia de Herrera and the assigned functions of the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Authority, and the Tourism Authority of Panama. Its provisions would also reach the named festival associations, cultural delegations, municipalities, private sponsors, and entities entering into agreements or providing international cooperation.
What it proposes.
- International status of the Manito Ocueño Folklore Festival.
- Festival organization and funding.
- Institutional support and cultural agreements.
- Membership and internal rules of the association’s governing board.
Who it would affect.
- The festival’s governing association and its members.
- The Ministry of Culture and the tourism authorities named in the bill.
- Public or private entities contributing resources or entering into agreements.
- Participating national and international delegations.
Key points.
- Grants international status to the festival held annually in August in the distrito de Ocú, provincia de Herrera.Art. 1
- Sets a purpose of promoting, preserving, and presenting the cultural heritage of Panama’s inland communities through local, national, and international participation.Art. 2
- Leaves exclusive organization and administration of the festival with its governing association.Art. 3
- Requires annual allocations from the Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Culture, each of no less than seventy-five thousand balboas (B/. 75,000.00), for the purposes specified in the bill.Art. 4
- Provides for technical assistance, promotion, and institutional support while respecting the association’s autonomy.Art. 5
- Authorizes agreements with domestic or foreign entities, subject to preserving the festival’s cultural integrity and original purposes.Art. 6
- Amends the rules on eligibility for governing board positions, the two (2) year term, and adoption of internal rules.Art. 7
- Reiterates the amendment to Law 53 of December 1, 1999 and sets commencement for January 1 of the fiscal year following promulgation.Arts. 8-9