Colón

The provincial capital of Colón, beside the canal's Atlantic entrance, has clearly seen better days, as the architecture of its older buildings attests. Its predominantly Afro-Caribbean population has long had a vibrant musical scene, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Colón, named for the Spanish-language surname of Christopher Columbus, was a relatively prosperous town. But "Aspinwall"—generations of Canal Zone residents knew the city only by its American name—spent the second half of the 20th century in steady decay, and things have only gotten worse in the 21st century. For the most part, the city is a giant slum, with unemployment at 15% to 20% and crime on the rise.