LA PINTADA, Panama (AP) — Cultural authorities at UNESCO have recognized the artisans of Panama for their distinctive woven hats. No, not those hats; the famed “Panama hat” comes from Ecuador.

The pinta’o hat is part of the typical attire of Panama for men, women and children. “Anyone can wear the pinta'o hat. The farmer uses it to protect themselves from the sun and a singer uses ...

Panama hats became even more firmly fixed in the popular imagination after the Paris Exposition in 1855, when a Frenchman who had been living in Panama presented Napoleon III with a finely woven hat.