Los Santos Province

Los Santos is a province of Panama. The capital city is Las Tablas, which is famous for its carnivals, the Festival Nacional de la Pollera (National Festival of the Pollera), and the Festival of the Patron Santa Librada. The province Los Santos and Herrera are important in Panamanian folklore because they are believed to be the birth place of the Pollera, the traditional Panamanian dress.

Los Santos has a surface of 3,804.6 kilometers squared and 83,485 inhabitants. The primary economical activities are growing corn, rice, coffee, sugar cane and the raising of livestock and commerce.

Districts

The province is divided in 7 districts:

District (Capital)

1. Guararé (Guararé)
2. Las Tablas (Las Tablas)
3. Los Santos (La Villa de los Santos)
4. Macaracas (Macaracas)
5. Pedasí (Pedasí)
6. Pocrí (Pocrí)
7. Tonosí (Tonosí)

History

Los Santos has a lot of history with Herrera. In 1850, Herrera and Los Santos were part of Panama and in that year it was created the province of Azuero in honor to Vincente de Azuero y Plata. In 1855 with the Estado Federal de Panama, they were divided into 2 departments. With the union with Colombia, Los Santos had many political and administrative changes. In 1941, with the presidency of Ricardo A. de la Guardia (1941-1945), Herrera and Los Santos were separated one last time and is what it is today.

Tourism

There are many well-renowned beaches, as found in Venado, Achotines, and Guararé. There are also beaches on the island, Isla Iguana, known for its blue water and black sand. The island is 25 minutes by boat from Pedasí. There are also parks here, such as the national park Cerro Hoya. There are also museums like the: Museum of Nationality (Museo de la Nacionalidad), the Museum Belisario Porras and the Musuem Manuel F. Zarate. There is also an arqueological site here called the Sitio Arqueologico Cerro Juan Diaz. There is also the Church of San Antonio and the Church of Santa Librada (made on March 1872). In 1958, a fire burned the Santa Librada's roof.