29 September 2012 / leggypeggy

Poor John and a Panama hat

Cuenca, Ecuador, Guayaguil, hat, Panama Canal, Panama hat, South America

Poor John and a Panama hat

Turn Poor John loose in a hardware store and you might not see him again for days. Who knew it was the same for Panama hats.

We spent our last few days in Ecuador in Cuenca, a city in the south and the true home of the Panama hat.

From the moment we walked into the first hat shop, I knew we would be going home with a Panama. Poor John tried to act nonchalant about it, but he had ‘I wanna Panama hat’ written all over his face. And, oh wow, do they suit him!

In the end, he bought a fine hat at the Homero Ortego Factory. If the photographs are to be believed, almost anyone who is anyone has bought their hat here. Mama Ortego is shown photographed with royalty, presidents, beauty queens, actors, actresses and more. Two especially notable Panama wearers on screen have been Father Mulcahy in M.A.S.H. and Julie Roberts in the racing scene in Pretty Woman.

Poor John’s purchase came at the end of a tour of the factory. We learned how the hats are made, the differences in quality and styles, the history of the name and more.

Here’s a very short rundown. The hats are woven from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant. A very fine hat can take up to six months to weave—these cost about $300 each and Poor John did not get the top of the line. He didn’t get the bottom either. 🙂

Poor John’s hat gets the final treatment

Today many hats are often started in a village—sometimes whole families work on hats—and then brought to the big city for blocking and finishing.

Cuenca began exporting hats in 1890. At that time, they were sent to the Ecuadorean port of Guayaguil for export. After the Panama Canal was opened, hats were shipped there for export. The name reflects the confusion between the place and port of origin.

All I can say is that after much trying-on and dithering, Poor John bought his Panama in Ecuador, and we watched the salespeople do the final work on his hat—namely sewing the hatband in place. The hat is now in its own box in the bottom of our locker on the truck. I bet he’s itching to wear it.

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