The Panama hat is one of the original traditional components of the sartorial treasures of numerous indigenous communities in the provinces of Azuay and Manabi in the south of Ecuador. The manufacture of this hat with leaves of carludovica palmata (tree of the cyclanthacees family), called straws of toquilla, rests largely therefore, once again, on a traditional manual, and essentially feminine ability. The Panama hat, secular evidence of a way of live and things (handicrafts) created by these indigenous groups, became the object of the attention of the privileged among western consumers around 1881 when work was first begun on the Panama canal. Curiously the hat was and is distributed around the world under its present name which refers Panama City, its first distribution center. Coveted for the first time for its functional qualities (hardiness, suppleness and lightness) it soon became well known in the Hollywood movies of Forties as it entered the pantheon of hat wear for the stars. This is how an everyday piece of hat ware of an indigenous people became a symbol of sophistication and luxury for occidental countries.