This is partly true -- it did happen, but in 1994. The musician's name is Rubén Blades, and he won a healthy 17% of the vote, whereas the winner, Pérez Balladares, won with just 33%.

You may already be familiar with Blades without realizing: He has starred in a number of American films: The Milagro Beanfield War, Dead Man Out and Fatal Beauty.

In Panama, you will find only U.S. bills. As for coinage, both American coins and Panamanian coins are used.

Panama has used the U.S. currency since 1904, but people still refer to the currency as the balboa for nationalistic purposes. You will see the symbol for the Panamanian currency marked as both $ and B/ (for balboas), though they are economically indistinguishable.

From most points on either coast, it takes only about an hour to drive from the Pacific to the Caribbean. In most parts of the country, the width of the isthmus is about the same. There are also many peaks where you can see both bodies of water at the same time.

A general note on the difference between the Caribbean and the Pacific: The Caribbean has much calmer waters and is much more beautiful if you like clearer water, while the Pacific has a much stronger current and so is better for surfing.