Diggin’ Greaves in Cativa, Panama

This piece was originally published in Dig Mag (UK 2021). Full article below.

Dig Mag is the brainchild of English graphic designer Martin Lovegrove based off Leicester in the UK. We got in touch through Instagram at some point during the pandemic, and I ended up collaborating on his unique magazine. For me, it’s always an honor to contribute with wonderful artistic projects such as Dig Mag.

Since the magazine is always looking to tell interesting stories about record digging, I decided to put forward a fun one about one of my visits to the province of Colon in Panama, specifically in the small town of Cativa. During my years collecting records, I have come across many fortunate, unfortunate, hilarious and even scary situations which I plan to document at some point just for the hell of it. Maybe my kids will read about them one day.

During that particular digging expedition, I got many records but I had to choose only one to showcase in the article for Dig Mag. I chose Panamanian wonder kid Little Francisco Greaves & The Valiants privately produced soul single on his family’s label (his father and brother where in charge of the self owned Franklin Records. They also released a few singles on the small Panamanian Sally Ruth label). The 45 single has “Knock Your Head and Go Wild” a great funky tune as the B side, and “No Puedo Vivir Así” a slower tempo, beast of a song on the A side.

Francisco was just a young teenager then, but possessed an enormously soulful voice. His brother Franklin Delano did most of the songwriting, directing and also bass playing, while their other brother Jaime played guitar. They where all from Rainbow City in Colon, Panama. The group had a big hit in Panama in 1966 with a tune called “Necia de Mi Corazon” which is a Panamanian all-time classic. I am particularly in love with the A side of that single on Sally Ruth, “Saying Goodbye”. You can find both songs at the bottom of this post.

So without further ado, here is the complete article I wrote for Dig Mag:

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The province of Colón in the Caribbean side of the isthmus of Panama was a musical hotspot during most of the 20th century and can be quite a rewarding place for a record collector, so when I got a call from an old contact (who hadn’t delivered any goods in any of my previous visits) I was ecstatic, but also skeptical. In the past, I had traveled out there to check on leads from this person to absolutely no avail, but I decided to give him a try once again. After all, record digging is all about persistence. 

That day started with a 1 hour drive to the town of Sabanitas, just outside the city of Colon, a place where one has to be very careful. Even though you can find really honest, humble and nice people, you can also come across some very dangerous individuals. I had to pick up my contact there, and then we would have to drive another 30 minutes to a house in the nearby town of Cativa. We arrived at an almost rural setting where we were going to meet a certain Mr. Henry, an Afro Panamanian man in his late 70s. We couldn’t access the place by car because the roads were too narrow, so we parked in front of a neighbors house right above the hill where Mr. Henry’s house was located. As soon as I got out of the car, a ferocious barking pitbull started running towards me, much to the surprise of the neighbors who all came out of their houses to see who this strange city guy hanging around their precincts was. Some guy yelled ‘Que sopa fulo, bien cuidao’ which basically means, ‘whats up, I’ll look after your car for money’. I was feeling a little scared because I had some cash on me and also a new cell phone in an unknown, unpredictable environment.

“Que sopa Fulo, bien cuidao'”

We got to Mr. Henry’s house who began by asking me why I wanted his records, so as to approve of my intentions with them prior to letting me know how much he wanted for the vinyl. Mr. Henry had a few LPs and 45s out for me, but nothing sparked my interest, and there were no more records in sight. I started thinking the whole endeavour was a big fail. He offered me some coffee and I started playing some music on my phone before the disappointing drive back. Suddenly, he seemed to take a liking towards me when I showed him a few Panamanian vinyl music specials I had done for my old radio show. To my huge surprise, about 10 minutes into our conversation, Mr. Henry then tells me he has a few more records inside. He went in for a few minutes, and then brought out a big wooden box and told me that the box hadn’t been opened in over 20 years. He went on to tell me he wanted his records to be ‘in good hands’. My mood went from total disappointment, to butterflies in my stomach. When I opened it, there were around 200 45rpm singles and 50 lps, and to my luck, some of them were incredibly rare pieces pressed in Panama.  

One of those gems was this particular single by Little Francisco Greaves and the Valiants on Franklin Records. It’s a wonderful single which presents two original compositions by Little Francisco’s brother Franklin, and in great Panamanian fashion, one side is sung in English and the other in Spanish. Both songs, “No Puedo Vivir Asi” and “Knock Your Head and Go Wild” are amazing contributions to the world of soul music hailing from the small but mighty powerful isthmus of Panama. Mr. Henry and I started talking about the artist that Little Francisco Greaves was, and how he was able to see him perform in Colon City a few times in the late 60s. I was really happy to see him smile and reminisce over those long gone days. We agreed on a price he was happy with, and I left with a bundle of great music from my country as well as a new friend in Mr. Henry. 

I guess his records are in good hands after all. 

My car was “bien cuidao” too. 

If you wish to contribute to Dig Mag and purchase a PDF download for a few quid you can do that here.

For more Panama Soul listen to this mix from my Mixcloud page.