MANTA, ECUADOR - MONTECRISITI, HOME OF PANAMA HATS (3 OF 6)

Panama Hats have never been made in Panama. The best of the Panama Hats are made in Montecristi. During the construction of the Panama Canal, a savvy Ecuadorian hat maker, saw the potential for a big market with sales of his hats to workers on the Panama Canal. The hats were light, durable, cool and great for working in the hot Panama Sun. When visiting the Panama Canal construction site in 1910, President Theordore Roosevelt wore the hat. When asked where he got it, he said he got it in Panama. Although he further stated the hat had been made by a hat maker in Montecristi, Ecuador, Panama Hat was the name that stuck.

The distinctive hats are made in Cuenca and Montecristi and although Cuenca had the largest volume of production, Montecristi hats are known for the highest quality. The average hat is woven with fibers 45 to an inch and takes a month to weave by hand. Prices can start at under $100 but most are in the $300 - $500 range. The finest hats are woven 65+ fibers per inch and can take over a year to complete. Our tour guide, David, said there is only one Artisan who can make this highest quality hat at a selling price of $10,000+.

On our excursion we visited a place that demonstrated the steps in the production of Montecristi hats. They didn't even pretend to call it a factory, but it was very interesting and very well done.

The hats are made from the fond of the Toquilla Palms, but not the dark green fronds we see every day. The hats are made for the tender new shoots when a new frond is "born". It takes 4 – 5 days for the shoot to get tall enough to produce the fibers for a hat. The shoots are cut into thinner and thinner strips. The strips are boiled in water and hung on a line to dry in the tropical sun. If it rains, the strips get wet, and the drying process starts again.

The dried fibers are about the size and texture of a strand of regular spaghetti. The dried fibers are hung in a wooden box which contains a sulfur solution. The fibers hang overnight and the fumes from the sulfur lightens the fiber and produces a more uniform color.

Like the monument to women hat weavers shown at the first of this section, the women do their weaving hanging over a frame. It made my back hurt just to watch them! First, they constructed the crown of the hat, then the brim. After it is complete, the fibers are trimmed and the edges woven together. The hat is washed in soap and water and then pounded to produce the smooth, fabric-like finish. A "pinch" is formed, a headband applied, and the Montecristi "Panama" hat is complete!