Azuero International Fair

Azuero International Fair

Don Lito Garcia, an exemplary man of business and industry and also a member of the National Assembly, radiated respect and friendship, which is why he enjoyed the trust of farmers and industrialists throughout the country. It is worth mentioning that the governments of the time were present and supported these fairs since they contributed to the development of the Central Provinces and there was a man of great credit in the figure of Don Lito Garcia. Today Don Lito Garcia is recognized as the "Zapador de las Ferias de Azuero" for being the organizer of the second, third and fourth version of the Fairs in the lands of Mr. Maximino Vasquez.

It is important to highlight that in 1947 the Symbol of the Azuero Fair (its three arches) was inaugurated, where 5.5 hectares of pasture land full of weeds were delivered and later purchased in December 1961 through activities that were developed mainly in the Villa de los Santos to acquire this valuable land where the Azuero International Fair began and where it is located to date.

The First Agricultural and Industrial Fair was held in Penonome in 1928 with the President of the Republic, Mr. Rodolfo Chiari and Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Alejandro Tapia Escobar. In 1938, the First Fair was held in Valle de la Luna in the Province of Chiriqui with Don Miguel Angel Brenes as organizer. In 1941, the First Regional Fair was held in Ocú in the Province of Herrera. By the year 1944, being President of the Republic Don Ricardo A. de la Guardia and Minister of Agriculture and Commerce Eng. Carlos Quintero, the state sponsors the second Agricultural-Industrial Fair of the Central Provinces, version that was in charge of the illustrious Santeño Don Manuel García Castillo (Don Lito García) who had at his side the distinguished lady Esperanza Berbey de Castillo from Chitre, with whom I had the pleasure and pride to talk about the experiences lived with her husband during the early years of the Azuero Fair.