Panama’s own Champs Elysees

12-17-2008 | DAVID YOUNG OUR MAN IN PANAMA

ourman@laestrella.com.pa

Developers sometimes get a little carried away with their own rhetoric but we are talking Avenida Balboa

Panama Star When the Irish famine drove thousands of immigrants to the United States, many arrived believing that the streets were paved with gold. A major British investment specialist, shortly moving his Middle Eastern operations from Dubai, to Panama, must have similar feelings. Describing the move the company’s CEO said: “The move of our operations to the Champs Elysees of Panama City signals a significant shift in global market trends.

The Champs Elysees in Panama? In case you wonder where these Elysian Fields are, the executive was referring to Avenida Balboa.

Either he hasn’t strolled down the Champs Elysees with the Etoile at one end and the Place de la Concorde (and the U.S. Embassy) at the other, or he hasn’t seen Avenida Balboa or both.

Even with the new Cinta Costera, which seems to have allocated more space to parking and roads than greenery, somehow Avenida Balboa seems a distant cousin.

But we look forward to the day when our challenge to Paris will be lined with high end boutiques, magnificent restaurants, and cafes, where well heeled citizens can sip coffee and cognac, and watch elegantly attired matrons, and the haut monde pass by.

Look for the complete information in printed version, page 4E