A “montecristi fino” was presented to Napoleon III, and Paris launched the fashion. The hat was quite naturally christened “panama”, as the result of confusion between the port of origin and the original provenance, as had already been the case with the Americans. Soon the fame of the “panama” was such that the Ecuadorian authorities could do nothing to change the name of this distinctive product, which was unique in the world; it had slipped through their fingers, and was promoting the image of another country, which was being talked about more and more! And in fact, this final phase of the century marked the beginning of a gigantic project: the construction of the Panama Canal by Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had been given the task of linking up the world’s two greatest oceans. The newspapers of the period were very attentive to this part of the globe. The very idea – to cut a continent in two! The task was long and Herculean. Millions of cubic metres of earth had to be moved. Assistance poured in from every side, and there was certainly no lack of work.
The heat and the sun made the use of the straw hat more or less obligatory. It was extremely light, airy and protective, thanks to its broad brim. it was even said that the finest specimens could be used to carry water: a nice way of cooling oneself down! The hat, in any case, became indispensable in Panama, and its success was such that other countries began to produce their own version. Ecuador gave its authorization to sell the precious straw. Peru and Colombia also began production – their output was smaller, but they participated in their own way in the history of the hat by introducing other types of weaving, and other designs.
At this time, Panama was not just the most important trading centre in South America, and the future leading light in a project that had the world holding its breath: it was also an international center of revolutionary activity, one of whose principal actors went by the name of Eloy Alfaro.
