Separation Day – November 3, 2026

Expected Separation Day Deals

While Separation Day is primarily a patriotic observance, many travel agencies and airlines offer special promotions on flights to Panama around this time, encouraging tourism to experience the national festivities. Panamanian restaurants and cultural centers in the U.S. may feature special menus or events. Look for discounts on Panamanian coffee, crafts, and traditional attire from specialty retailers. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as November 3 approaches.

History of Separation Day

Separation Day was established as a mark of Panama’s independence from the South American nation of Colombia in 1903. Interestingly, Panama has its own independence day already, which is celebrated on November 28, the day that Panama gained its freedom from Spain, in 1821. That breaking away was led by one of the most famous leaders in South American history — Simon Bolivar. He was a Venezuelan leader who fuelled the fires of revolution and enabled Panama and Colombia to break free from Spain, among other South American countries like Ecuador and Venezuela.

When Panama left Spanish rule, it came under the Republic of Greater Colombia (or Gran Colombia). Despite this monumental step of emancipation from Spain, the Panamanians weren’t satisfied. They had an enduring passion to become their own nation, and they almost became independent from Columbia in 1831, which was when Ecuador and Venezuela parted ways with the Republic of Greater Colombia.

Around the late 1800s, the French decided that building a canal across the Isthmus of Panama would be a great way to make the Pacific accessible, hence the Panama Canal project was born. However, the French failed and abandoned the project. It was then that the U.S. also stepped in and attempted to complete construction, but they faced opposition from the Government of Colombia. It was therefore in the United States’ best interest to support the Panamanian separatist movement, as Colombia and Panama were in disagreement over the right of the U.S. to build and control the canal.

With aid from the U.S., Panama successfully broke away from Colombia in 1903. It was then that Panama signed the “Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty” which recognized the Republic of Panama as an independent nation, and allowed the U.S. to resume construction of the Panama Canal. The reason Panama was in favor of the canal was that it would help improve their socio-economic conditions. By 1914, the Panama Canal was completed and by 1999, President Jimmy Carter handed full control of it to the Government of Panama.

Today, the motto of Panama is ‘Pro Mundi Beneficio’ (‘For the benefit of the world’), and this stands to reason, because of the great importance of the Panama Canal to international trade and other commerce-related affairs. So deeply does their patriotism run that many Panamanians even adopted Ruben Blades’ song, ‘Patria’ (‘Motherland’), as their unofficial national anthem. Blades is a Panamanian musician and activist, and his song ‘Patria’ (released in 1988) talks about the meaning of the word ‘homeland’.