The Sombrero Pintao

The sombrero pintao is Panama's own hat, and it has nothing to do with the Panama hat, which is Ecuadorian. It is woven from the fibres of several local plants: talcos for the pale ground, crinejas plaited into braids, and pintas, the dark bands, coloured black by burying the fibre in mud from particular riverbeds for days. The finest are made from very fine braids and take months, with quality judged by the number of braid rings. UNESCO inscribed the whole process, from growing the plants to the mud dyeing, in 2017. La Pintada in Coclé is the best known centre and holds a hat fair each October.

What you actually see

• The mud dyeing - fibre buried in riverbed mud to turn it black.
• The braid count - how quality is judged, from a few rings to twenty-odd.
• La Pintada workshops - the main centre, open to visitors.
• The October hat fair - the annual gathering of makers.

When to go

Year-round for workshops, which work on weekdays. The hat fair at La Pintada is in October. Buying from a maker rather than a market stall gets both a better hat and the money to the right place.

Honest expectations

Prices vary enormously with the fineness of the braid, and a genuinely fine hat costs several hundred dollars; the cheap ones in tourist shops are coarse and often not made in Panama at all. Confusing it with the Panama hat, which is Ecuadorian, annoys people here. Hats are awkward to carry home undamaged.

Nearby

La Pintada is 20 minutes from Penonomé; the Azuero villages are further south.