Panama Jack

Panama Jack Warnick is a frustrated blue eyed gringo accordionist who doesn’t understand why every red blooded person on earth can’t feel what he feels when he hears La Pava Congona by Andres Landero on the radio. Oh wait, that’s because La Pava Congona is never played on the radio. This is a crime and this is why he created this website, for the many people of this world that have been exposed to and are passionate about Vallenato music.

Growing up in the D.C. area he found his first love as a teenager, the Blues. Drinking beer under cover of the dim lit smoke filled Psyche Delly on Friday nights while Jimmy Thackery and Mark Wenner of the Nighthawks respectively shredded and cried Elmore James “Dust My Broom”. It was as clear then as it is today that all music is at its very best in its simplest form, harp, guitar, bass, and drums or in the case of Vallenato; Acordeon, Caja, and Guacharaca.

As a soldier in the army operating in and out of Panama, Jack was introduced to a sweet little Cholita from the interior who on their first of many five hours bus rides “Home” introduced him to the sounds of the Central American country sides. 30 years later he’s still in love with both the girl and those incredible sounds and the stories they tell.

Just like the Blues, Vallenato music rips open the soul of a man and exposes his every ounce of pain. All vulnerabilities are displayed and overcome during the course of the song. The words are personal but can relate to all of us and the music belongs to all of us but strikes that special nerve in every individual.

Panama Jack’s mission in this world is to expose everyone in the world to what he can’t escape; the sound, feel, and identity of a culture. A culture of humility, perseverance, and ultimately celebration. A celebration not of material or wealth but a celebration of life.