Museo Hou Wang: A Landmark for Bocas del Toro’s Multiethnic Heritage

Bocas del Toro now has a physical manifestation of its history and culture; a place where the sons and daughters of Bocas del Toro can discover and honor their past, an attraction for visitors to gain a whole new perspective on the depth and richness of our community. As of today, December 12, 2025, the Museo Hou Wang has officially opened its doors!

The museum tells the Bocas del Toro story. It houses Precolombian artifacts discovered from the archipelago’s first inhabitants. It narrates what is known about the first European encounter with the arrival of the Spanish on Christopher Colombus’ fourth and final voyage in 1502. It highlights American, German and French merchants of the banana industry that shaped the transformation of Bocas del Toro to a bustling international port in its Golden Age of 1890-1930. Indigenous, Afro-Antilian and Chinese stories are told and exceptional Bocatoreños are honored. It is a house to showcase the living and breathing gastronomy, music and culture that has developed over the last century and half and still persists today.

The first floor has a conference room that is the perfect space for cultural events, presentations, concerts, debates, etc. The second floor is where you can dive into all the history; artifacts, exhibits, detailed history in both Spanish and English, and if you are curious as to what Bocas del Toro looked like in 1959, there is even a mini-cinema room playing a colorized video of the islands, from Carenero’s very own Luis Russell, pioneer of jazz music in the United States on his final visit home. Luis Russell has his own exhibit, along with Guillermo Sánchez Borbon (Tristán Solarte), Dr. José Antonio Price, Carlos Reid, the Snyder brothers, Minor Keith, James Chong, Marcus Garvey, and many other figures that played a role in shaping our community’s history.

Last but not least, the museum is the final resting place of a treasured relic of Chinese-Panamanian migrant history: the altar of Hou Wang Kun. The altar was brought to somewhere between 1904-1908 by  Bocas del Toro’s original wave of Chinese immigrants who settled here in the late 1800s. Hou Wang is tied to a 12th-century Song Dynasty general who fought the Mongol forces of Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, and came to symbolize protection, loyalty, and perseverance. The century-old altar—once housed in a small temple decorated with intricate golden carvings—remains a cultural legacy of the local Chinese community. The original temple was destroyed in the 1991 earthquake, though the newly constructed museum now protects this unique site, the only Hou Wang altar in the Americas, while also showcasing Bocas del Toro’s rich multiethnic history.

“The Altar and the Museum carry a great purpose: to preserve and transmit legacies. The Altar perpetuates the religious sentiments of a generation no longer with us. Our ancestors—our great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents—paid homage to him and asked the deity that their struggles and sacrifices bring hope and well-being to their families and community,” said Julio Mou, co-creator and historian of the museum, during the October 25, 2025, inauguration ceremony.

“The Museum is a necessity, a rescue. It is a banner of the identity of the people of Bocas del Toro—those who were forgotten in their time and who, through the efforts of many Bocatoreños, today become visible. We had to overcome many obstacles and convince many people of our sincere intentions to rescue and preserve our history: a multiethnic history, one of contrasts, of respect for human beings, of work, development, and hope.”

The Museo Hou Wang is the result of eight years of diligence, coordination, fundraising and a labor of love from the Chinese Association of third- and fourth-generation Bocateño descendants, particularly brothers Julio and Luis Mou and Ruben Chaw. It is a completely private undertaking funded by donations from members of Panama’s Chinese Association. Artifacts were contributed by Carlos Serrud, Luis Nuques, Janette Morrison, Dave Gillingham and Clyde Stephens, who is also honored with his own exhibit, a recognition well-deserved for his own significant contribution to the rescue of Bocas del Toro history.

The initiative was announced to the community in the May 2019 print edition of The Bocas Breeze with an article by Julio Mou entitled Bocas del Toro Cultural Museum with 12th Century Hou Wang Kun’s Altar. It is a true pleasure to see the project come to life and we were honored to attend the museum inauguration on October 25, 2025.

Bocas del Toro Governor Marcela Madrid was present at the inauguration, though there was a noticeable lack of participation from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism Authority of Panama and the Bocas del Toro Municipality. We hope the enthusiasm surrounding this historical and cultural initiative will continue to grow in the community and will achieve more recognition and support from authorities.

“Culture can truly change the world,” remarked Julio Mou at the beginning of his inaugural speech. He elaborated on this concept in post-ceremony interview with The Bocas Breeze:

“If there is no culture, there is no identity. That is why it is important that the museum, and what it expresses to the youth, is that there is a past — and that we always learn from the past. We learn where we come from, which is the most important thing, so that in the future we can have a legacy.”

“Cultures do change the world, because they change the way we think, they change the way that brotherhood, tolerance, and love for others are expressed. Everything is born from a cycle, and that cycle evolves. That is why culture is important: because within culture lies the wisdom of many people who converge in a single place, and that is what Isla Colón is today.”

Museo Hou Wang starts doing its part to shape our community’s world starting today, Friday, December 12, 2025; opening its doors to the public for the first time. The museum is located on Calle Primera (1st Street), Isla Colón, between the hotels Tropical Suites and Hotel Bocas Town, open Tuesday through Sunday, 11am to 8 pm. The price of admission is $8 for foreigners and $3 Panamanian nationals.