00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:19.920
It sounded like that.
- Scary.

00:00:20.040 --> 00:00:21.960
It was terrifying.

00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.960
This story begins with the sound
of an American machine gun.

00:00:28.080 --> 00:00:30.880
And a bomb being dropped.

00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.320
But there's also a pair of clippers.

00:00:35.400 --> 00:00:37.200
A shovel.

00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.480
A baby.

00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.160
A drill.
And a gamecock called Pedro.

00:00:46.360 --> 00:00:49.720
I'll try to record his crowing.
- Pedro.

00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.880
All these sounds together
tell a story of Central America.

00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:02.200
I've lived in and travelled around
this region for 15 years.

00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.560
Noises are all around you at all times.

00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.240
May I record your voice?
You have a good voice.

00:01:11.360 --> 00:01:14.640
Get your chicheme here.

00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:16.600
We've got chicheme.

00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.000
Thank you.
- You too.

00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.360
God bless.
- Likewise.

00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:26.880
These are happy sounds,
full of joy and rhythm.

00:01:31.240 --> 00:01:34.400
But once, back in the 1990s,
there was the regular sound...

00:01:34.520 --> 00:01:36.680
...of American machine guns.

00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:40.920
There was this storm of gunfire.

00:01:41.880 --> 00:01:46.840
This story is about the echo of
the machine guns in today's Panama.

00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:50.760
It sounds complicated
and a little pretentious.

00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:54.480
But everything will be made clear.

00:02:40.600 --> 00:02:43.760
Dad, I'll sit over there.
- Fine.

00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:04.200
I don't know Panama very well.

00:03:04.320 --> 00:03:08.800
I used to pass by when I travelled
from Nicaragua to the Netherlands.

00:03:08.920 --> 00:03:13.000
I lived in Nicaragua for 15 years
and I watched Panama change.

00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:18.360
From the plane I saw more and more
skyscrapers go up.

00:03:18.480 --> 00:03:21.960
Yes, Panama has changed quite a lot.

00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.600
It changed quickly.

00:03:25.720 --> 00:03:31.600
Is there some kind of vertical obsession
that causes all this high-rise?

00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:34.680
Everything is built up now.

00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:36.360
With a lot of high-rise.

00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:43.640
Wherever you look, you see
these super tall tower blocks.

00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:47.880
I helped build one.

00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.720
Which one?
- That one with the crane.

00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:56.920
Until three months ago.
I put in the floors there for a year.

00:03:57.040 --> 00:04:00.920
Then what happened?
- I had problems with my boss.

00:04:01.040 --> 00:04:04.640
What kind of problems?
- He wanted to pay me less.

00:04:04.760 --> 00:04:07.880
And you got angry.
- And now I'm here.

00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.640
I did a few job interviews at first.

00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:17.920
Including at a few building sites.
Nothing.

00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:21.760
So you went back to fishing?
- Yes, I took to the sea again.

00:04:41.880 --> 00:04:45.520
The Panama Canal was
supposed to be built in Nicaragua.

00:04:45.640 --> 00:04:48.280
But Panama ran off with the loot.

00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.880
These houses were built on the clay
dredged from the canal...

00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.800
...for the migrant workers
who dug it.

00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:02.720
But these migrants' houses are now
bought up by major investors.

00:05:02.840 --> 00:05:05.000
For even more skyscrapers.

00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:08.000
So the lively working-class area
may disappear.

00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:12.440
This gentrification, ironically,
is caused by the prosperity...

00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.200
...brought by a canal
dug by these very workers.

00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:32.600
How do you see the future of this area?

00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:37.400
I think the area will get a nice boost.

00:05:37.520 --> 00:05:41.800
They're building everywhere.
It's all very pretty.

00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:48.280
They're building right across the street.
- Yes, a good-looking building.

00:05:48.400 --> 00:05:51.120
A high one.
- High, right?

00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:57.520
Will it be the highest here?
- Yes.

00:05:57.640 --> 00:06:01.000
Will you be able to live in it?

00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.520
That depends.

00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.800
It depends how much money you have.

00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:12.600
A lot of money comes into Panama,
but there's still a lot of poverty.

00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.160
And that isn't necessary.

00:06:15.280 --> 00:06:20.600
Panama is promoted
as the land of skyscrapers.

00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:24.120
But nobody notices...

00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:29.120
Maybe you did when you
walked around in this area.

00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.360
So...

00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:34.920
It doesn't match the promotions?
- Exactly.

00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:40.360
Children are dying of hunger
and malnutrition here.

00:06:48.280 --> 00:06:52.200
Do you consider yourselves
rich or poor?

00:06:52.320 --> 00:06:54.840
Something in between.
Not rich, not poor.

00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:56.840
Middle class.
- Yes.

00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:17.640
The clippers. You might call this
the sound of the middle class.

00:07:17.760 --> 00:07:20.880
It's a special sound, because Panama...

00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.480
...has one of the biggest income gaps
in the world.

00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:29.360
We are indignant together about the
gaping chasm between rich and poor.

00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:33.400
As I record some random other sounds...

00:07:33.520 --> 00:07:35.800
...a rooster keeps crowing through them.

00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:38.760
Yes, says the hairdresser, that's Pedro.

00:07:40.080 --> 00:07:44.200
He takes me to his flat
over the barbershop.

00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:06.040
Mind your head.
There are nails in that plank.

00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:12.720
I'll try to record his crowing.

00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:15.640
Pedro.

00:08:15.760 --> 00:08:18.200
He'll crow in a second.

00:08:27.840 --> 00:08:34.440
How many gamecocks do you have?
- About fourteen.

00:08:34.560 --> 00:08:39.960
They fight on Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays.

00:08:41.280 --> 00:08:45.120
They keep me pretty busy, those cocks.

00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:49.280
Do you enjoy cockfights?
- Yes, I grew up with them.

00:08:49.400 --> 00:08:54.360
I have six siblings.
Four brothers and two sisters.

00:08:54.480 --> 00:09:00.400
My father was a cockfighting man.
I'm the only one who took it up.

00:09:00.520 --> 00:09:02.920
Is this cock a good fighter?

00:09:03.040 --> 00:09:08.640
This one is three years old already.
His first fight...

00:09:08.760 --> 00:09:10.160
Hey, Pedro.

00:09:10.280 --> 00:09:14.640
He lost his very first fight.

00:09:14.760 --> 00:09:19.320
His opponent slashed his throat.

00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:25.120
I took him out of the fight,
patched him up and trained him.

00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:29.880
Since then he won twelve times.
He killed twelve other cocks.

00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.160
Even though he lost the first time.
It was a good lesson for him.

00:09:35.280 --> 00:09:38.200
He'll fight again this month.

00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:44.960
Pedro has a good view
of the crane across the street.

00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:49.240
Do you own this apartment?
- I do.

00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.880
I bought the plot 24 years ago.

00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.360
Land prices here were still low then.

00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:04.800
But after all these years
the price of land has gone up a lot.

00:10:04.920 --> 00:10:07.960
I have several buyers
who are interested.

00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.360
But I'm waiting a bit longer
for the value to increase.

00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:15.720
When that building is finished,
my plot will be worth more.

00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:19.040
How much have they offered so far?
- 300,000.

00:10:19.160 --> 00:10:21.200
300,000 dollars?
- Yes.

00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:25.400
And how big is your plot?
- 35 square metres.

00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.720
That's a good offer then.

00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:34.480
When I retire,
I'll move to the countryside.

00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:38.200
What should the offer be
for you to accept it?

00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.640
500,000 dollars.
- Half a million in your pocket.

00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:47.800
Won't you miss this neighborhood
if you go?

00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:57.400
No, I'll come back to visit. Once every
three months for a week, or something.

00:10:57.520 --> 00:11:00.560
Say hello to everybody.

00:11:00.680 --> 00:11:05.080
Won't you miss the cocks?
- I'll take them with me to the country.

00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:11.200
They have cockfights there too.
Like in each other's backyards.

00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.800
Cockfights often come about
spontaneously there.

00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:20.960
So you'll all be better off, even.
- Sure.

00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:24.360
And your pension is guaranteed
with this plot of land.

00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:26.480
Yes. God willing.

00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:49.080
Now we know what connects
gamecocks, clippers and drill.

00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:55.800
The drill allows the owner of the
clippers to sell his Panamanian land...

00:14:55.920 --> 00:14:59.680
...and have a carefree old age
in the country.

00:15:00.640 --> 00:15:03.480
Together with Pedro the Gamecock.

00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.960
But what do cock, clippers
and drill have to do...

00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.520
...with an American machine gun?

00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:33.640
At about a quarter past midnight...

00:15:33.760 --> 00:15:38.960
...we heard sirens and a lot of yelling.

00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:45.000
My sister woke my mother
to say that the world was ending.

00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:48.720
The world was ending?
- Yes, the sky turned red.

00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:50.680
Red? How so?

00:15:50.800 --> 00:15:55.440
No idea, but that's what I saw:
a red sky.

00:15:55.560 --> 00:16:00.320
I also saw flashes of light
shooting from one side to the other.

00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:05.600
I guess they must have been missiles.
There were bright lights...

00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:08.960
...flashing from one side to the other.

00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:10.760
Since the sea is so close...

00:16:10.880 --> 00:16:16.680
...we could also see parachutists
falling from the sky.

00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:18.600
They jumped from helicopters.

00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:24.800
They dropped out of the sky just like
that. They were American soldiers.

00:16:24.920 --> 00:16:29.200
Quite a lot, really.
Just like little dolls.

00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.760
It was raining dolls.
- From a red sky?

00:16:32.880 --> 00:16:36.600
Yes, the sky was red.

00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:39.000
I'll never forget that.

00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.600
Do you remember the sounds?
- Yes.

00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:43.960
What were they like?
- Very loud.

00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:49.360
The noise was so loud
that the houses were shaking.

00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.680
Tanks were coming down the streets.

00:16:52.800 --> 00:16:56.520
I'd never seen a real tank before,
only on TV.

00:16:56.640 --> 00:16:59.520
Our floors were vibrating.

00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:05.360
That was the sound of tanks passing by.

00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:07.760
They went like...

00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:13.320
And suddenly it was 'bam'.
A bomb fell on the military barracks...

00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:17.360
...of Noriega's police unit.

00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:24.000
It sounded like a massive thunderbolt.

00:17:24.120 --> 00:17:30.200
Did you hear machine guns too?
- I did, further down there.

00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:35.640
It sounded like that.
- Scary.

00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:39.560
It was terrifying.

00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:44.440
There was a gun fight between
the Dignity Battalions...

00:17:44.560 --> 00:17:48.600
...which were the Panamanians
who supported Manuel Noriega...

00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.680
...and the Americans.

00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.440
It was a lot like the movie
Fast & Furious.

00:17:58.360 --> 00:18:00.920
There was this storm of gunfire.

00:18:16.600 --> 00:18:21.560
Officers, soldiers and civilians
in the command post:

00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:26.800
You are completely surrounded
by US armed forces.

00:18:32.560 --> 00:18:33.960
He was hit.

00:18:34.080 --> 00:18:40.640
The bullets split him down the middle.
Dreadful. He was my childhood friend.

00:18:40.760 --> 00:18:45.960
There was a guard in the watchtower.
He was killed too.

00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:49.240
That was even worse.
His guts had come out.

00:18:49.360 --> 00:18:52.440
A tank had hit the tower full-force.

00:18:52.560 --> 00:18:58.160
How old were you then?
- I was 10 when the invasion took place.

00:18:58.280 --> 00:19:04.120
Pretty shocking for a ten-year-old.
- Very shocking, yes.

00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:08.760
So, that's how it sounded.
- Thank you. Have a nice day.

00:19:58.800 --> 00:20:02.040
Chorrillo was burning like Berlin

00:20:03.360 --> 00:20:05.160
You lost the rhythm.

00:20:06.600 --> 00:20:08.280
Let's go again.

00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:16.080
it was next to the command post

00:20:17.080 --> 00:20:21.440
so even the pictures of Ismael
were burned

00:20:21.560 --> 00:20:24.720
in the shadows
a general stood

00:20:24.840 --> 00:20:28.360
the kind who hands in his machete
without fighting

00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:32.400
we must always remember
those who are no longer here

00:20:32.520 --> 00:20:37.360
now and forever, brothers
we must never forget

00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:40.480
for El Chorrillo and Panama

00:20:54.160 --> 00:21:00.520
Do you think the invasion was
a good thing for Panama in the end?

00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:05.600
Look, the Americans paid us
a pittance for the canal.

00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.120
They paid a million dollars a year.

00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:12.040
Now we know the canal brings in
a billion dollars a year.

00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:15.280
Yes, they helped.
Yes, they drove the oppressor out.

00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:19.000
And yes, they did a lot of
bad things too.

00:21:19.120 --> 00:21:23.840
But those in power today
are even worse than the Americans.

00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:27.800
They are thieves
with even bigger claws.

00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:34.040
They're no better than gangsters.
They're robbing Panama blind.

00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:37.080
We lost a billion dollars already.

00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:40.200
You were better off with the Yankees?
- Definitely.

00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:44.480
All these old folks
worked for the Americans.

00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:49.360
We drank expensive beer.
We had good food.

00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:53.640
I have insurance and I'm entitled
to a pension.

00:21:53.760 --> 00:21:58.360
Look what amount
they intend to give me.

00:22:00.520 --> 00:22:03.480
56 dollars.
So I can't stop working.

00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:07.800
I have a family to provide for,
two children.

00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.800
This is your whole pension?
- Yes.

00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.480
Wait a second.

00:22:14.600 --> 00:22:18.920
He skipped someone.
It wasn't his turn.

00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:46.760
I once brought my young son
to the oldest bar in town here.

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:48.760
The Café Coca-Cola.

00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.760
With a glass?
- No, a straw, please.

00:22:53.800 --> 00:22:55.200
Thank you.

00:22:55.320 --> 00:22:59.680
I told him that Fidel Castro
and Che Guevara had sat here...

00:22:59.800 --> 00:23:03.080
...planning the Cuban revolution.

00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.920
I wanted to explain how
communism and capitalism...

00:23:08.040 --> 00:23:10.560
...had affected Latin America.

00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:14.720
It was probably a bit much
for a seven-year-old.

00:23:14.840 --> 00:23:18.240
But he was pretty pleased
I gave him a Coke.

00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:37.120
Let's go, we're having
a little clean-up.

00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.160
We're taking to the streets again today.

00:23:40.280 --> 00:23:45.520
To show the authorities that we
need it to be clean here...

00:23:45.640 --> 00:23:48.400
...and that we want new dumpsters.

00:23:48.520 --> 00:23:52.760
This is Alex Cortez, from Colombia.

00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.720
She's responsible for
social media marketing.

00:23:56.840 --> 00:24:02.400
Miroslava, the Panamanian superstar.
As seen in a Netflix series.

00:24:02.520 --> 00:24:04.640
This guy is an actor too.

00:24:04.760 --> 00:24:07.840
And some local residents who help us...

00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:13.280
...take responsibility for our own lives
by keeping the streets clean.

00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:18.560
Is the symbolism of the Café Coca-Cola
important for you?

00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:23.000
In a way, yes.

00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:27.400
Traditionally it has always been
a gathering place for activists.

00:24:27.520 --> 00:24:30.640
Che Guevara, Fidel Castro
and other revolutionaries.

00:24:30.760 --> 00:24:34.080
But you're not communists
or socialists?

00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.080
No, on the contrary.

00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:43.920
We are simply citizens who say:
'We ourselves are the solution.'

00:24:44.040 --> 00:24:50.040
We're not Coca-Cola capitalists,
nor communists or socialists.

00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:53.320
We are regular citizens...

00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:57.000
...who want to be responsible
for the area they live in.

00:24:57.880 --> 00:25:02.480
Barak, an Israeli developer,
leads a group of hipsters...

00:25:02.600 --> 00:25:06.800
...whose Insta page describes them
as 'tigers of cleaning.'

00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.920
Due to the pattern of their leggings.

00:25:10.040 --> 00:25:12.440
They regularly clean this area...

00:25:12.560 --> 00:25:15.960
...where the invasion took place
and the cranes are now.

00:25:16.080 --> 00:25:20.480
Boss. Here you go.
- Great.

00:25:20.600 --> 00:25:22.360
Do you want gloves?

00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.880
Wear the green ones.

00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:28.560
This brings us to the sound
of the shovel.

00:25:33.040 --> 00:25:35.960
The sound of good intentions.

00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:38.880
Thanks.

00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:44.440
Greetings to my friends
of the municipal cleaning services.

00:25:44.560 --> 00:25:48.400
You are my pals because
you follow me on Instagram.

00:25:48.520 --> 00:25:52.040
I'm not sure though
if this initiative had existed...

00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:55.800
...had the cleaning tigers not
invested money in the area.

00:25:56.800 --> 00:25:58.280
Careful.

00:25:59.800 --> 00:26:01.200
Yes, like that.

00:26:03.120 --> 00:26:05.560
What's your interest
in this neighborhood?

00:26:05.680 --> 00:26:13.240
We bought a few parcels of land
in this area.

00:26:13.360 --> 00:26:18.120
The land near those buildings,
for example.

00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:21.640
How many houses have you bought?
- Dozens.

00:26:21.760 --> 00:26:23.480
Dozens?
- Yes.

00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:26.480
Is that why you want the area
to be clean?

00:26:26.600 --> 00:26:31.840
It's true that a clean neighborhood
is important to me, but...

00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:35.800
Hey, come here a sec.

00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:38.640
Look who it is.

00:26:38.760 --> 00:26:40.160
How are you?
- Fine.

00:26:40.280 --> 00:26:41.800
Hi. My hands are dirty.

00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.760
Have you come to help?
- Sure.

00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:49.880
This is one of the best artists
in Panama.

00:26:52.280 --> 00:26:55.320
What will you do
with the buildings you bought?

00:26:55.440 --> 00:27:00.960
Wonderful things. Panama
is headed for a glorious future.

00:27:01.080 --> 00:27:06.160
This is the main city in the
whole area between Mexico...

00:27:06.280 --> 00:27:09.360
...down to Peru and Brazil.

00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:15.200
It's the people who make a city, not
the buildings. The people come first.

00:27:15.320 --> 00:27:20.240
Are you against gentrification then?
- No, not really.

00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:23.240
But you mustn't pass the people by.

00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:25.720
We can't drive out the locals...

00:27:25.840 --> 00:27:30.440
...because it's they who make the area
so colourful.

00:27:30.560 --> 00:27:36.480
The music, playing dominoes, haircuts
in the street. It makes people happy.

00:27:36.600 --> 00:27:43.960
We decided, instead of complaining
or sending letters...

00:27:44.080 --> 00:27:46.720
...that nobody acts on anyway...

00:27:46.840 --> 00:27:49.640
Here come the authorities
on motorbikes.

00:27:51.560 --> 00:27:54.600
Driving around, yes. Cleaning, no.

00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:16.200
What are the photographs for?

00:28:16.320 --> 00:28:19.360
For our social media channels.

00:28:21.840 --> 00:28:25.280
For Instagram?
- Yes, for Instagram.

00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:56.080
Okay, let's go.

00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.040
A mere 50 metres away from
the full dustbins and the cranes...

00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:11.600
...we find Panama City's historic centre.

00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:14.640
The eager sounds of construction
are heard here too.

00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:20.360
Everything is spruced up and sold on.

00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.760
There aren't many Panamanian
residents anymore.

00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:30.640
Nobody knew the word 'gentrification'
here.

00:29:30.760 --> 00:29:33.880
There's no word for it
in the Spanish language.

00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:37.640
Bu then a group of squatters
put up a banner.

00:29:37.760 --> 00:29:43.080
They occupy an old school building
that many developers are after.

00:29:44.840 --> 00:29:47.480
This used to be a school?
- Yes.

00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:50.920
And now you live here?
- Yes.

00:29:51.040 --> 00:29:54.520
Why?
- We were evicted.

00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:58.960
The house that I lived in...

00:29:59.080 --> 00:30:03.640
...was sold and turned into apartments.

00:30:03.760 --> 00:30:07.080
And now you live in this school?

00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:11.640
What's it like to live in a school?
- It's not very nice.

00:30:11.760 --> 00:30:14.840
Not very nice?
What's not nice about it?

00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:18.360
We have no privacy.

00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:20.120
In the bathroom.

00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.320
Are you all on top of each other?
- Yes.

00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:26.480
Et cetera.
- Et cetera.

00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:31.280
May I come in to have a look?
- Sure.

00:30:35.040 --> 00:30:36.520
Thank you.

00:30:48.240 --> 00:30:52.520
The school building is occupied
by ten evicted families.

00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:58.800
It's an act of peaceful resistance
against the rising house prices.

00:31:01.040 --> 00:31:06.560
The eldest squatter is at the front door
in case the police want to come in.

00:31:09.280 --> 00:31:13.120
There's a parakeet,
and the sound of a fan.

00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:18.000
Children usually produce a lot of noise.

00:31:18.120 --> 00:31:20.600
Nobody complains about the baby...

00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:23.040
...or about the TV that is always on.

00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:30.320
Camera footage shows police violence
against the residents of a building...

00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:34.960
...where the police gathered
for an eviction.

00:31:35.080 --> 00:31:39.920
Our cameras witnessed
the violent police actions...

00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:44.040
...against the angry people in the street.

00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:46.240
They used pepper spray...

00:31:46.360 --> 00:31:50.880
...without a care for the children
present at the scene.

00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:53.280
Take the baby to the hospital.

00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:56.040
This is pure abuse of power.

00:31:56.160 --> 00:32:00.040
They sprayed my baby
with pepper spray.

00:32:00.160 --> 00:32:02.760
We're taking him to the hospital.

00:32:06.840 --> 00:32:11.760
Did you decorate the house
so beautifully yourself?

00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:13.880
Yes, little by little.

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.800
You have quite a lot of pictures.

00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:21.680
Were they in the house
you were evicted from?

00:32:21.800 --> 00:32:24.040
Yes, they were there too.

00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.080
How long have you lived here?
- We moved in in November.

00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:36.040
You must have been one of the first
to live in this school.

00:32:37.560 --> 00:32:42.600
How are you all?
- We're fine, thank heavens.

00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:45.120
Under the circumstances.

00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:52.920
There's a lot on your walls.
Boats, animals, diplomas...

00:32:53.040 --> 00:32:55.600
My husband took various courses.

00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:59.600
Is that the Chrysler Building?

00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:02.440
No idea what building that is.

00:33:02.560 --> 00:33:05.120
Would you live
in a skyscraper like that?

00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:09.640
Who wouldn't? Of course I would.

00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:12.280
What would it be like?

00:33:12.400 --> 00:33:18.400
I'd prefer one of the upper floors.
Because of the views.

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.760
With a roof terrace, so you could
go out for some air...

00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:28.120
...and nice views of nature.

00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:33.880
I'm all sweaty.

00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:51.080
You look sad now.

00:33:52.600 --> 00:33:58.560
We lack comfort here,
but we'll manage.

00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:09.680
Why is it important for you
to live in the old town?

00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:14.240
They want this to remain
a historic area.

00:34:14.360 --> 00:34:19.880
If they're so keen to preserve
the local historic character...

00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.520
...they should have poor people
living here too.

00:34:24.640 --> 00:34:31.640
But house prices are really steep
because so many rich people move in.

00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:37.040
And they don't want to look at
washing lines on the façades.

00:34:38.680 --> 00:34:43.120
The poor give the neighborhood
its atmosphere, right?

00:34:43.240 --> 00:34:47.080
The rich have more problems
than the poor sometimes.

00:34:47.200 --> 00:34:51.360
That's why we say here:
Even the rich weep.

00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:55.120
I often eat rice and egg, for example.

00:34:55.240 --> 00:35:00.800
While they eat rice and steak,
with a nice salad.

00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:03.960
So what? I enjoy my rice and egg.

00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:10.640
And they don't enjoy their food.
They have too many worries.

00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:15.760
Like debts. A lot of rich people
have debts.

00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:27.040
With a little left-wing imagination,
the poor Panamanians...

00:35:27.160 --> 00:35:32.680
...are like a helpless baby
hunted by a capitalist bird of prey.

00:35:36.040 --> 00:35:40.400
From its ivory tower
it looks for cheap land.

00:35:40.520 --> 00:35:44.960
But no, that would wrong the baby
as well as the bird.

00:35:45.080 --> 00:35:48.280
Talking about each other
instead of with each other...

00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:52.120
...makes the divide between
rich and poor only bigger.

00:35:53.120 --> 00:35:58.400
What I also noticed here is that the poor
and the rich don't speak to one another.

00:35:58.520 --> 00:36:03.120
They have their own areas, schools,
and shopping malls.

00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:07.960
Do you see yourselves as rich people?

00:36:08.080 --> 00:36:10.200
No, we're not rich.

00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:14.880
I don't know the top level of wealth, but...

00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:22.240
...we climbed up from the middle class
to the upper class.

00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:26.080
Are you millionaires?
- I wish.

00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:32.520
I might have a million in real estate.

00:36:32.640 --> 00:36:34.480
But I don't have...

00:36:34.600 --> 00:36:39.280
Is the question if you're millionaires
an awkward one for you?

00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:45.240
Let me put it this way:
We worked hard for our retirement.

00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:48.720
But I can't shop at Prada...

00:36:48.840 --> 00:36:52.440
...and buy thousand-dollar shoes
just like that.

00:36:52.560 --> 00:36:55.120
We need the outlet for that.

00:36:55.240 --> 00:36:59.720
So no, I'm not a millionaire.
Millionaires go to Prada to buy shoes.

00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:03.960
I go to Miami sometimes
and I cross the US. That's all.

00:37:04.080 --> 00:37:08.880
You're not millionaires but you're...
- Middle class.

00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:12.960
Upper middle class.

00:37:13.080 --> 00:37:14.840
Not millionaires.

00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:20.200
Do you think all Panamanians benefit
from the economic growth?

00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:27.720
No. Our country has a top layer
of very privileged people.

00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:31.800
If you could ask
a poor Panamanian a question...

00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:35.360
...what question would it be?

00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:43.680
Why don't you want to escape poverty,
or why can't you manage to do so?

00:37:47.080 --> 00:37:53.040
Why don't I want to escape poverty,
or why can't I manage to do so?

00:37:53.160 --> 00:37:57.720
I tried.
I wish I knew how.

00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:04.080
It's not exactly easy.
With the salaries and everything.

00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:09.200
Who wouldn't want to have money?

00:38:09.320 --> 00:38:12.880
Of course we want to have money too.

00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:17.760
Who knows what the future will bring.
My grandson might get rich.

00:38:17.880 --> 00:38:23.680
He might be a baseball player.
- And rake in a fortune.

00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:25.960
Granny's wheel of fortune.

00:38:31.560 --> 00:38:35.040
I think God saves us the best for last.

00:38:38.240 --> 00:38:40.800
This is Kaytlin, eight years old.

00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:46.200
She doesn't want to be filmed
but she wants to be in on everything.

00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:52.000
Whenever we're in the school building,
she looks on from a distance.

00:38:52.120 --> 00:38:56.120
If I try to talk to her,
she runs away.

00:38:56.240 --> 00:39:01.360
But one day she wants to know what
I'm doing with that recording device.

00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:05.600
I tell her I'm building a bridge
between rich and poor people...

00:39:05.720 --> 00:39:07.760
...but I'm not very successful.

00:39:07.880 --> 00:39:12.160
She says she has always wanted
to say something to the rich.

00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:20.480
Make sure to always stay rich.

00:39:20.600 --> 00:39:25.200
Because if your money runs out
one day...

00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:28.920
...because you've bought too much stuff...

00:39:29.040 --> 00:39:31.600
...then you'll be poor.

00:39:33.040 --> 00:39:35.680
Advice instead of reproach.

00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:38.160
I'm learning something here.

00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:53.800
My collected sounds of Panama
do not exactly tell a happy story...

00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:56.280
...of a country that's developing.

00:39:57.400 --> 00:39:59.160
I hear echoes from the 1980s...

00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:03.400
...and see a country struggling with
the heritage of a dictatorial past.

00:40:03.520 --> 00:40:07.920
we must always remember
those who are no longer here

00:40:08.040 --> 00:40:10.640
for El Chorrillo and Panama

00:40:12.360 --> 00:40:15.080
I don't see progress,
but gentrification.

00:40:15.200 --> 00:40:20.520
Why don't you want to escape poverty,
or why can't you manage to do so?

00:40:20.640 --> 00:40:24.640
My failed attempt to get two worlds
to listen to each other...

00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.720
...only seemed to create
more lack of understanding.

00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:30.400
I know what the answer is:

00:40:30.520 --> 00:40:33.160
They don't want any commitments...

00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:36.440
...they don't want to take responsibility...

00:40:36.560 --> 00:40:39.120
...and they don't want to be educated.

00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:46.240
I never thought one shy girl would
so accurately hit the nail on the head.

00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:52.360
If your money runs out one day
because you've bought too much stuff...

00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:54.920
...you'll be poor.

00:40:55.040 --> 00:40:59.160
Dear Kaytlin,
thank you for your good advice.

00:40:59.280 --> 00:41:04.400
I will be careful with my money.
And I also want to tell you something.

00:41:04.520 --> 00:41:11.760
You are only rich or poor if that is
how you feel and how you experience it.

00:41:11.880 --> 00:41:16.120
You're rich when you have friends
and love other people.

00:41:16.240 --> 00:41:18.880
It's not about a fat wallet.

00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:21.240
It's about having love in your heart.

00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:24.440
Wealth is studying.
Wealth is working.

00:41:24.560 --> 00:41:29.200
It's good food.
It's being together with others.

00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:31.800
Talking, laughing and playing together.

00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:36.440
Sharing things, making friends.
That is true wealth.

00:41:36.560 --> 00:41:38.720
Inner happiness.

00:41:38.840 --> 00:41:42.200
True wealth is made up
of many beautiful things.

00:41:42.320 --> 00:41:44.680
Everything else is unimportant.

00:41:47.520 --> 00:41:50.080
Let's go. Let's go.