Segregation, malaria and 25,000 dead: The hidden history of the Panama Canal in a literary epic

"But I didn't know much about its history. I had a lot of assumed ideas, and one was that Panamanians had built the infrastructure. But when I started researching, I discovered that, of the 50,000 workers, only 357 were Panamanians. That was a shock. I thought: if they didn't build it, who did? The answer led her to search through archives, libraries, and gather testimonies: Antilleans from Barbados, Jamaicans, workers from 90 different countries who came to that small corner of the world."

"Asked if she feels anything different seeing the canal now, Henriquez smiles: The truth is, I'd never crossed it before. I did it two years ago, when the book came out in English, and it was very revealing, because I already knew what was under the water and the asphalt: the bodies, the people. It was a very meaningful experience for me; it was something symbolic."

"That feeling of walking on ghosts, on forgotten memories is what fuels the atmosphere of her novel. Set in Panama at the beginning of the 20th century, the book intertwines the lives of Ada, a teenager from Barbados who arrives alone, in hiding, seeking money for a cure to save her sister; Omar, a young Panamanian who wants to work on the canal despite his father's objections; Francisco, his father, a fisherman and symbol of resistance to the infrastructure; and John Osw"

A narrative set in Panama at the beginning of the 20th century centers on the human cost of the Panama Canal's construction. The project employed around 50,000 workers but only 357 were Panamanian; many laborers came from Barbados, Jamaica and ninety other countries. An estimated 25,000 workers died, and many others suffered loss of homes and health. The story follows Ada, a Barbadian teenager seeking money for her sister's cure; Omar, a young Panamanian eager to work; Francisco, a fisherman resisting the infrastructure; and other characters whose lives intersect amid engineering, migration, and grief. The narrative recovers forgotten lives and traces collective sacrifice.

Read at english.elpais.com