Coclesito is the capital of the

Omar Torrijos Herrera District Omar Torrijos Herrera is a district in the Panamanian province of Colón, located approximately west of Panama City. It is named after Omar Torrijos, ''de facto'' leader of Panama from 1968 to 1981. Geography Omar Torrijos Herrera is located in ...

in the Colón Province,

Panamá Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

. Until February 20, 2018, it was part of the

Donoso District Donoso District is a district (''distrito'') of Colón Province in Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of ...

. Coclesito has an approximate population of 1200 inhabitants.

History

The city of Coclesito was officially founded by

Omar Torrijos Herrera Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard and military leader of Panama from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, ...

on August 8, 1970. In 1971 he brought several

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

to establish an agricultural cooperative in Coclesito. The cooperative lasted until 1990, when the buffalo were divided among the households that had operated it. Today mining has become the main industry in the area, and national tourism is also developing.

Culture

Omar Torrijos built a house in Coclesito in 1978. It was converted into a museum after his death, preserving his belongings and original furniture. Since 2014, Coclesito celebrates the annual water buffalo festival on August 8, the anniversary of the founding of the city.

Transportation

The only road connection is the gravel road built in 2006 that runs from the mines through Coclesito to the south to

La Pintada LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. Previously, there was an airfield in Coclesito, now closed, which was the destination of the plane carrying Omar Torrijos when it crashed nearby in 1981.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Colón Province