Mola cake

Hi! Last Friday, August 15th, was the 495th anniversary of the foundation of Panama Vieja, A settlement founded on 15 August 1519 by Pedro Arias Dávila and other 100 inhabitants. At the time, it was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, replacing the two cities of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla. Also, that same day we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal.

I’m a bit late, but I wanted to share with you this cake  which I decorated inspired by the Molas, a form of art from the Kuna Indians in Panama. In Dulegaya, the Kuna’s native language, “mola” means “shirt” or “clothing”. The mola originated with the tradition of Kuna women painting their bodies with geometrical designs, using available natural colors; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton. Here you can see an example of this art:

This one hangs on my living room

As you can see, it is made with small pieces of fabric sewed together to form a complete design, always with a dark color in the back.

And here is the cake

It isn’t perfect, but I’m very proud of it, because it is inspired by my dear Panama.

Happy Anniversary Panama!