working on its restoration.
However, a construction project proposed by President Ricardo Martinelli has
recently proven controversial. Named "Cinta Costera 3", this project
includes the construction of a maritime highway viaduct all around the Casco
Antiguo. Proponents claim the road will ease traffic congestion in the city
while "[causing] a positive dialog between [the] highly contrasting areas
of the city."
Opponents of the
$776.9-million project say the road will ruin the view of the horizon from the
Casco Antiguo and that there are alternatives to the viaduct (such as a tunnel)
that could protect the "integrity" of the place. Much of the
controversy surrounding the project involves the possibility that Casco Viejo
will lose its World Heritage status. On June 28, 2012, UNESCO decided that
Casco Viejo will not be put on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger,
while affirming the importance that further studies be conducted to demonstrate
the project will not be culturally detrimental to Casco Viejo and that the
viaduct is the "most viable option".
Literature
According to Professor Rodrigo Miró, the first story about
Panama was written by Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés and published as
part of the Historia General y Natural de Las Indias in 1535. Some poets and
novelists born in Panamá city are Manuel María Ayala (1785–1824), Amelia Denis
de Icaza (1836–1911), Darío Herrera (1870–1914), Ricardo Miró (1883–1940), Gaspar
Octavio Hernández (1893–1918), Demetrio Korsi (1899–1957), Ricardo Bermúdez
(1914–2000), Joaquín Beleño (1922–88), Ernesto Endara (1932–), Diana Morán
(1932–87), José Córdova (1937–), Pedro Rivera (1939–), Moravia Ochoa López
(1941–), Roberto Fernández Iglesias (1941–), Jarl Ricardo Babot (1946–), Giovanna
Benedetti (1949–), Manuel Orestes Nieto
