True Origin of Ecuador Toquilla Straw

Its historical antecedents are from 1748 in Spain, where Carlos IV and his wife Queen Luisa got married and in 1789 then Carlos assumed the throne.

One of the activities carried out by the kings was to facilitate the creation of guild organizations of workers in fine wood and natural fibers, it was from that moment that the workshops of fine toquilla straw weavers were created.

After the death of the kings, the weavers decided to choose a name for the palm in honor of them, so they decided to join both Latin names in honor of these very important characters of that time.

“Carlos” Latin Carolus

“Luisa” Latin Luduvicus

From that moment the scientific name of the plant was born. Carludovica Palmata

The genuine Panama Hat comes from a palm tree, it is processed and converted into raw material, it is mainly characterized because its leaves resemble a window, they have an approximate height of 3 meters above the surface of the earth.

In Ecuador, this plant is found in the mountainous parts of the Coast, specifically in Montecristi – Manabí in humid places such as (Las Pampas, Pile, Aromo), humid places that favor its growth.

Important fact: A plant gives only 15 to 20 buds, it is also known as Jipijapa.

5 thousand years of history has the Panama hat

In Ecuador, the existence of the handmade toquilla straw hat dates back approximately 5 thousand years, evidenced by some pre-Columbian cultures such as Jama-Coaque, Manteña, Chorrera and others, where its shape was similar to the wings of a bat, then called “tocas” or “tocados”.

The great heyday of these hats came from the fusion that took place in the 17th century, in the year 1630 the indigenous Domingo Choez fused the raw material (Paja Toquilla) with the Spanish hats, thus giving as a result, the origin of the hats of toquilla straw.