Isabel De Obaldía’s (b. 1957 in Washington, DC; lives in Panama City) Por Panamá la Vida (2019) features video the artist shot that documents the last years of General Manuel Noriega’s dictatorship from a domestic point of view. Political turmoil penetrates the artist’s home via television screens, windows, and received information. De Obaldía narrates throughout, weaving together scenes from her family’s daily life with drawings she made (also on view) that further process the tumultuous moment. The piece concludes with the 1990 US invasion of Panama and the fall of Noriega, who was an alum of the School of the Americas (SOA) US military training program.
