Panama Burlesque Festival

Jota Mercury has performed at the Panama Burlesque Festival twice in his career. Once in 2019 as a competitor and again in 2024 as a featured performer. This festival comes highly recommended for BIPOC artists who want to showcase their talents while also indulging in the beauty of Panama City, Panama.

Festival rating: 9/10

The production team put their hearts and souls into this festival and I couldn’t be more proud of their success. It’s grown quite a bit since it first began in 2019. The team’s dedication to putting on such a wonderful show filled me with passion and inspiration. This festival holds a special place in my heart, without spaces like this performers like me wouldn’t have the opportunity travel, share my art, expand my art, and meet new pals.

There were many planned outings and meals that made me feel extremely included and considered throughout my stay, adding the sense of community that’s often so hard to find while traveling. As for the location we stayed, everything was walkable but it’s worth noting the streets and most buildings are not ADA accessible. A big plus is you can easily find everything you need at decent prices in the shops leading up to the theater. My only negative feedback is that I didn’t receive many photos or any video of my performance due to technical issues on both the photographer’s and videographer’s parts. For what it’s worth, my pants did get stuck and I did end up screaming “AYÚDAME” on the ground until help came, so that could have something to do with it.