Know your [real] Panama hat
Favored by socialites at summer garden parties, Al Capone, and English cricket spectators, the cream colored Panama hats of public imagination actually hail from Ecuador.
Woven from the leaves of the toquilla plant the hats first arrived on the Isthmus in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were an instant hit among transient 49ers who took them home to the US and erroneously called them ‘Panamas’ During the construction of the canal the hats proved an ideal working accessory – lightweight, breathable and perfect for keeping off the sun and rain. In 1906 they became all the rage in Europe and the US when President [Teddy] Roosevelt famously donned one during his historic visit to the canal construction site.
Traditional Panama hats – as worn by the rural populations of Panama’s central provinces – are an altogether different garment and commonly known as sombreros pintados. Woven from the braided fibres of junco, bellota and pita plants, the hats are a vital element in traditional dress codes and essentials for festivals and public gatherings. They are also worn by many on a casual daily basis as a visit to Panama’s interior quickly reveals. Style of sombrero pintado varies between villages and artisans, but very simple coarse versions can be bought for around five dollars ad serve as robust working hats – the preferred attire of agricultural laborers.
The very best hats require a month or more of careful construction and can fetch several hundred dollars on the local market. If you’re interested in acquiring a sombrero pintado – fine or coarse – try the stalls on the highway near Penonome or travel to a specialized village (for example La Pintado in Cocle or Ocu in the Azuero Peninsula) to buy directly from an artisan. Prices are based on the number ofvueltas or lines of braiding along the rim and should generally look for a fine and even weave.
Wearing your sombrero pintado is an art in itself Perhaps the best way (and the way least likely to cause offence) is with the front and back turned up just so, denoting a successful happy and handsome wearer. Turning up only the back is said to indicate specialized intellectual knowledge while turning up just the front is said to be the preferred style of a ladies’ man. Turning down the front meanwhile can be a sign of mourning or unhappiness.
Panama staged its first festival dedicated to the sombrero pintado in 2011. It was a joyous occasion filled with ox-cart processions, traditional dancing, and music and, of course, plentiful hats.
This article is the first in a regular series profiling travel news, destinations, weekend get aways and more. It is reproduced from the “Footprint” Panama Handbook by Richard Arghiris. With permission of the author. To see Newsroom’s review ofthe book go to
https://www.newsroompanama.com/news-and-features/tourism/7379-tourism-panama-under-a-writers-microscope.html
