Aguadas

The sombrero aguadeno is woven from iraca palm and is the hat associated with Antioquian and Caldas country dress - white, soft, with a black band, and traditionally worn with the ruana. Aguadas has made them since the nineteenth century and a museum in the town covers the craft with the tools, the fibre preparation and the grades. The town itself is a heritage centre of whitewashed two-storey houses on steep streets at around two thousand metres, cold and often in cloud. It holds the Festival Nacional del Pasillo, a music festival for the pasillo, a waltz-derived Andean form played on bandola, tiple and guitar, which is the other reason people come. It is remote and receives few visitors.

History

When the Spanish arrived the land was home to the Coucuyes, and Marshal Jorge Robledo, sent by Sebastián de Belalcázar, founded Santiago de Arma here as a fort in 1542; gold drew settlers until it ran out and the authorities moved Arma to Rionegro. Many people refused to leave, and in 1808 José Narciso Estrada founded Aguadas as settlers poured in from Antioquia; its historic centre was declared a national monument in 1982, it became a Colombian heritage town in 2012, and it hosts the National Festival of the Colombian Pasillo (Wikipedia, Aguadas, Caldas).

Highlights

• The aguadeno hat - iraca palm, worn with the ruana.
• A museum of the craft - tools, fibre preparation and grades.
• Whitewashed streets at two thousand metres - cold and often in cloud.
• A national pasillo festival - bandola, tiple and guitar music.

When to go

Year round; the festival is the peak. Half a day.

Before you go

It is a long winding drive from anywhere. Cloud and cold are frequent at this altitude. Services are limited. Hat workshops are households rather than shops - ask locally.

Nearby

Salamina is south; Sonson is north in Antioquia.

Key facts