“It wasn’t just your average bus ride where you get on, give your money to the driver and mind your business,” Szok recalled. “You were kind of enveloped in something broader.”
Indeed, from the inside out, the red devils — known in Panama as diablos rojos — offered riders what Szok describes as an “enveloping, multi-sensory” experience.
Bold and colorful artwork that featured pop culture icons or comic book characters emblazoned the exteriors of the buses, as did idyllic beach, mountain or countryside scenes. The insides of the buses — often discarded American school buses from Florida — could be boisterous and festive.
“The designs and pictures create a public spectacle capable of astonishing and drawing in passengers, especially when combined with thumping reggae, horns, screeching breaks and the rhythmic jingles of the pavo or assistant shouting out the destination,” Szok once wrote in an article published in Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal.
The owners of the buses had good reason to provide riders with a memorable experience. The city’s bus system was privately operated and made up of dozens of small operators who competed for customers.
The competition wasn’t just limited to the bus owners. It also spawned a culture of one-upmanship among painters, who could command upwards of $2,000 per painting.
