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Panama City continues to grow as a cultural center, attracting artists and events from around the world. It is one of the things that makes the capital a vibrant and interesting place to live and work.

A good example is this week’s opening of an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of famed artist Pablo Picasso. The exhibition, “Aún sorprendo” (“I Still Surprise”), features 40 lithographs by Picasso from different stages in his career. The collection is on loan from the Universidad Europea del Atlántico/Fundación Universitaria Iberoamericana (Funiber) and will be exhibited for two months at the Cultural Center of Spain in the old town of Panama City.

Even if you’re not a fan of abstract art, it’s still great to see this type of event in Panama City. It’s the type of cultural event that defines great cities. It could be said you only become a great city when you become a center for arts and culture. 

In many ways, the Picasso exhibit makes a direct connection between Barcelona and Paris, the artist’s Europe. It may be a small show, but it still represents a nice link to the Old World that informs so much of modern Panama.

The exhibited work is meant to show three distinct periods in Picasso’s evolution, EFE notes: “The Blues of Barcelona” from the artist’s blue period; “Genevieve, paper drawings of his secret lover, the French philanthropist, and poet Genoveva Laporte; and “Dancers” – copper engravings of Picasso’s relationship with dance.

Federico Fernández, who curated the project for the Cultural Work of Funiber, told EFE the collection “is an example of that variety, of that diversity that makes Picasso, whether we like it or not, still surprise.”

Fifty years after his death Picasso is still as popular and discussed as ever. 

“Picasso was an extraordinary man and an extraordinary artist, and when an extraordinary man combines with an extraordinary artist, we are sure that this man will be immortal,” Gregorio Urriola, Funiber’s representative in Panama, told EFE.