The Cuenca Panama hat Weavers

The Panama hats are known to accentuate and magnify the personality of the wearers. These straw hats are a remarkable handicraft of the master artisans in Cuenca and Montecristi. The Panama hats are considered by many as a stylist accessory rather as an ordinary hat. The hat production in Cuenca is larger than in Montecristi.

In Cuenca, the Panama hats take less time to weave than a Montecristi hat. A Panama hat usually takes time from a day to months depending on the delicacy of the weaves or the weaver’s skill. If you visit Cuenca, you will see straws lined up in straw market days. Many weavers, especially women are seen busy with their hands weaving the straw into different patterns. This is very common in Cuenca. It is claimed that baby girls are often born with a toquilla straw in their hands. However, it is not known whether that this statement is true or not, but with the everyday scene of the women weaving the straw hats in Cuenca, anyone will believe that.

In Cuenca, hundreds of people depend on the Panama hats for their livelihood. The weaving is quite different from the Montecristi hats. The straws that are used here are mostly thick, and it takes only few days to complete one Panama straw hat. When they complete the weaving, the straw hats are passed down to the hat factories to complete the outer brims. The shapes are also given in the hat factories before shipping out.

Cuenca produces the Panama hats in all quality level. Though, they have less reputation than the Montecristi hats, but they are all straw hats of fine quality. The Cuenca Panama straw hats are produced in large numbers. They keep up the demands of the mass that is increasing day by day, something which the Montecristi hat weavers cannot compete.