The video captures a diarized conversation among attendees and staff at the Tribal Gathering festival in Panama during March 2022, when COVID‑related border closures created a rapidly shifting quarantine regime. Speakers describe the requirement of a 14‑day stay before leaving, multiple military passport checkpoints, and frequent changes to the allowed departure date (initially March 23, then later permitting exits for those with confirmed flights). They recount logistical hurdles such as shuttle stoppages, escorted transports to the airport, and the need for medical clearance and masks for those under the quarantine period. Amid the uncertainty, the community shares food, pools expenses, and supports one another, praising festival producer Tim for handling the stress. Several participants eventually secure flights, travel to Panama City and then to Cancun, expressing relief, calm, and a positive outlook despite the “apocalypse‑like” atmosphere. The transcript alternates English and Spanish, reflecting the multilingual setting, and ends with messages of kindness, mental‑health stability, and collective humanity against the virus.
Chapters
People have to have been in Panama for 14 days in order to leave Panama. Okay, so they're going to check your passports. There are 4 checkpoints between here and Sabanitas, and they will check your passports. If one of you jumps on a bus and you are outside of that quarantine time, that whole bus will come back.
So I'm at Tribal Gathering and everyone is just doing their best to get along, to get situated. We have just been told that we are here until the 23rd of March, and that's one week away.
We're willing to come in somehow, but also, like, this is part of the conversation right now, before I was interrupted, is that we need to now band together and put some systems in place and continue to run the site and provide things to the people, Help is not coming.
Everything keeps changing. Monday they told us we could leave if we had been in Panama for 14 days, and that was in the morning. And then by mid-afternoon they told us no one was leaving until March 23rd. And then by the next morning we were told that you could leave if you were past the 14-day quarantine. Last night I got a text message Saying that that all has changed and that new information is coming this morning, but I don't know what that information is as of yet. The people that are left on site right now are very calm. We're all working together. It's, it's a beautiful thing. I'm well taken care of here.
The food is incredible.
Incredible.
They're feeding the crew and everyone left. We're sharing in the expense of that food so it doesn't all fall on the festival's shoulders. Tim, the festival producer, executive producer, is— it's a lot of stress. It's a lot of stress on him, and he's handling it incredibly well, and I am thankful for his generosity. I don't know What else is really going on?
We just got word this morning that the shuttle that left yesterday got stopped and, um, everyone was checked. Passports were taken by the Panamanian military, um, and anyone who didn't have a confirmed flight, uh, were sent back to the festival site. Now we've all been checked, um, and We've been certified that we don't have COVID. Uh, I don't understand why people are getting sent back. They had places to stay in Panama City or places to go. I'm in a safe place. I'm around wonderful people. This isn't a terrible place to be stuck. But having someone, having a military take your passport away is an unnerving prospect.
La cuarentena establece que deben tener 14 días en el país y no presentar síntomas respiratorios. Vamos a hacer una excepción con los que no han cumplido los 14 días y si tienen boleto confirmado de salida. Se le va a dar la opción de salir una vez que el médico lo revise y se le ponga una mascarilla.
Nosotros acabamos de trabajar aquí el 15 de marzo y estamos aquí perdiendo los vuelos porque no podemos salir de aquí.
I have an Airbnb in Portobello that I was going to go to. Can I still do that? Unless you have no.
The only way that they're going to let people out of here is by taking them straight to the airport, escorted, and only if you have a flight the next day.
But I have no place to go.
Yes, my bitches! Are you ready for the apocalypse? Because I know I am. I was just saying, seeing as how the apocalypse happened the other day and we did the last show ever in the last festival In the world ever. Here we are with the first show ever in the new world, people. Yeah, I like. I wrote some messages to my friends. I was like, "I've been quarantined at the last festival in the world by the military." Estoy aquí en cuarentena de los militares en el último festival del mundo, sabes. Couldn't write this shit, could you, people?
¿Qué ha de ustedes conseguir su boleto rápido hoy, mañana, bueno mañana, pasado y 21?
It is the 20th of March, and I am packed and ready to bolt. Panama is closing their borders, and I and they said indefinitely.
So I don't know that I would want to stay in Panama.
One last video of my 3-week home, a tribal gathering. I'm out. I got nothing left in this room. All my stuff is right there. Bye-bye, paradise. I'm gonna miss you. Shuttle comes at 10. I'm going into Panama City and we'll see where this adventure takes me. Now, uh, now we have at least a 4-hour drive back to Panama City and we'll see how long it actually takes. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon we just left, so what does that put us at, 2:06? So we should make it to the airport?
Not far. 6-ish? Fingers crossed.
It is now Saturday, March 21st, and I am on my way to, as you can see back there, Cancun, Mexico. That's what we're gonna try to do. Several people are going back to their home countries. As you can see, we have a fair number of people in the airport, but it took us all of maybe 5 minutes to get through security. There's not a lot of people here. I think everyone has pretty much gotten home who wants to go home.
I'm safe.
I'm fine. I have— my mental health is good. I'm not panicked.
There is, uh, there's 8 of us traveling together.
We're all taking care of each other.
And it's the best of possible circumstances in this worst of possible circumstances.
So stay safe, everyone. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Be kind to each other.
And let's show this virus the best of humanity. As always, on this wild adventure, I love my life. I love my life.
