Andres Jimenez was a retired teacher born and raised in Portobelo. At the time of this interview, he was 69 years old. In addition to having witnessed the Congo tradition of Portobleo since childhood, he participated in the role of priest at one time. His son, Raul Jimenez, has participated in the role of Major Devil. Early in Renee Alexander Craft's 2003 field research, she visited Maetro Andres at the restaurant attached to his home twice weekly for the first six weeks for Spanish lessons. As an extension of the lessons, Jimenez allowed her  the opportunity to interview him about the Congo tradition. 

Maestro Andres Jimenez: On the Congo Tradition of Portobelo, Panama 2003

Digital Portobelo is a cultural preservation and collaborative research initiative that focuses on Portobelo, Panama--an Afro-Latin community located on the Caribbean coast of the Republic of Panama. It represents the second phase of UNC Assistant Professor Renee Alexander Craft's critical ethnographic project that began in 2000. The first phase is represented through her monograph entitled When the Devil Knocks: The Congo Tradition and the Politics of Blackness in 20th Century Panama, which has been accepted for publication as part of Ohio State University's "Black Performance and Cultural Criticism" series. As a collaborative, interdisciplinary, digital humanities initiative, the project seeks to make the process and products of research more available and accessible beyond the academy—especially to the communities represented by and invested in them. Further, it responds to a call from the community for greater cultural preservation and a desire from researchers on the topic to have a better platform to share and expand upon existing research. 

Maestro Andres Jimenez: On the Congo Tradition of Portobelo, Panama 2003

DigitalPortobelo