Carlos Francisco Chang Marín

Who is Carlos Francisco Chang Marín?

Carlos Francisco Chang Marín or Changmarín was a Panamanian folklorist, painter, musician, journalist, activist and writer of poetry, essays and children's literature.

His writing, which has been described as close to the people's voice, portrays the class struggle and the search for social justice of his countrymen and working class people of the world. His work usually mixes descriptions of the Ibero-American countryside and simple life beauty with naive humour and optimism with proletarian revolution conclusions and tone. This makes his work very popular among the intellectual middle classes and the working classes, specifically the campesinos, who identify themselves with Changmarín's personality and language. Changmarín was himself born and raised in the countryside of Panama.

Politically persecuted in the past, Changmarín's contributions to Panamanian culture and folklore added to his internationally recognized talent and forced otherwise antagonistic institutions such as the government to recognize his achievements. He has won several national awards.