I have things to show you, people you need to know.

My grandfather, Reginald Dottin, was one of the 60,000 Bajan (Barbadian) builders of the Panamá Canal. He worked on the Canal until it was completed in 1914 then was hired to be a supply manager.  But, like many West Indians, he was later  forced to leave his home on the Canal Zone. My Dad -- that’s his passport picture up there above my head-- was raised on the Canal Zone town of La Boca, a segregated West Indian community.  His mom, Ethlyn (Cole) Dottin was from Jamaica and died when my Dad was thirteen. My father served in the U.S. Army in the 1950s where he was stationed in New Jersey.  After his service, he moved to New York where I was born.  The name of this site is the slogan for El Pacifico, the New York-based alumni association of my father’s alma mater in Panamá,  La Boca Occupational High School.  They have been an active force in  honoring and upholding the West Indian Panamanian community in New York and Panamá for more than 30 years.

From September 2008 to June 2009 I lived in Panamá  as a Fulbright Fellow. It was a transformative experience that taught me more than I can put into words.  I needed to find out about my family and the West Indians like them, speak to their ancestors, absorb the new Panamá.  I’m writing a book about my family’s history and here is where I have chronicled my time in Panamá and will continue to update you on the things I learn, and the progress of my project.

Join me on the journey!