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WORLD NEWSThursday 28 December 2017

UNESCO recognizes Panama’s hats _ no, not those ones

Pasion Gutierrez, 81, holds a finished traditional Panamanian pintao hat at his home in El Jaguito, home makes the hats rez said he’d gone out the
maintaining the techniques night before to cut agave
Panama. The round hats of circular brim and light, natural fibers are still made on a household taught by his ancestors.” leaves because they be-
The widely known “Pana- lieve the quality of the fi-
scale with various family members typically pitching in. ma hat” is a brimmed hat bers is best when harvested
traditionally made in Ecua- under a full moon.
(AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco) dor from the straw of the “It’s no good with a new
South American toquilla moon,” he said.
By JUAN ZAMORANO to the world’s hat heritage (105 miles) west of Panama palm plant. ‘ Several bands of fiber are
The hats are thought to dyed black with the leaves
Associated Press is the pintao, or painted City. have earned their mislead- from a different plant and
ing name because many then stuck in mud for three
LA PINTADA, Panama (AP) hat, handmade from five “They don’t have anything were sold in nearby Pana- days.
ma to prospectors travel- The fibers are woven into
— Cultural authorities at different plants and a dose (artificial), no machinery; ing through that country to fine geometric designs and
California during the Gold integrated into the hat giv-
UNESCO have recognized of swamp mud. no factory as such exists Rush. ing it its name.
Artisans of the truly Pana- “The pintao hat has be-
the artisans of Panama Production of the circular- here in La Pintada,” said manian pintao hat start come an integral part of
with the fibers of several regional outfits through-
for their distinctive woven brimmed hats is still a fam- Reinaldo Quiros, a well- plants that are cured and out the country worn dur-
then woven into braids ing traditional dances and
hats. No, not those hats; ily affair carried out on a known artisan and design- that are wrapped around community festivities,” the
a wooden form and sewn United Nations’ heritage
the famed “Panama hat” household scale. The indus- er who sells hats out of his together from the crown of arm’s statement said.
the hat down. Depending on the quality
comes from Ecuador. try’s center is La Pintada, a home. Pasion Gutierrez, 81, grows of the work some pintao
some of the plants around hats can cost hundreds of
Panama’s real contribution district about 170 kilometers “Each artisan in his own his house in El Jaguito out- dollars.
side La Pintada, while oth- Authorities estimate that
ers are found high in the 4,000 of La Pintada’s 25,000
mountains. Gutierrez, his residents work creating or
wife Anazaria and several selling the hats.
of their children and grand- Pedro Mendoza, a 50-year-
children make pintaos. His old hat maker, hopes that
eyesight doesn’t allow him the UNESCO recognition
to do the fine needlework takes the pintao hat be-
anymore, but he harvests, yond the country’s borders.
prepares and braids the fi- “It’s really good what’s
bers. happened,” he said. “The
On a recent day, Gutier- hat for us is a way of life.”q

Guatemala FM defends Israel embassy move, says no reversal

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — tention to reverse it. captured by Israel in 1967 might be made. Central American nation.
President Jimmy Morales’ “What we are doing is be- and is home to sensitive Jovel played down a pos- Trump’s announcement
top diplomat defended ing coherent with our for- Jewish, Muslim and Chris- sible fallout for Guatema- Dec. 6 upended decades
his decision to move Gua- eign policy and the ally we tian religious sites. Many la’s cardamom trade, for of U.S. policy and set off
temala’s embassy in Israel have been for Israel,” she governments have long which Arab and Islamic na- weeks of clashes between
to Jerusalem, rejecting said said the fate of Jerusalem tions are the largest buyers. Palestinian protesters and
on Tuesday international Morales announced the must be resolved through She noted it represents just Israeli security forces that
and domestic criticism af- change Christmas Eve, negotiations. 0.37 percent of the coun- have left at least a dozen
ter he followed Washing- becoming the first to fol- Israel welcomed Guate- try’s GDP. Palestinians dead. The U.N.
ton’s lead in announcing a low U.S. President Donald mala’s announcement, “It is not an issue that should General Assembly voted
switch. Trump on switching from Tel while Palestinian authorities really worry us too much,” overwhelmingly Thursday
Foreign Minister Sandra Aviv to Jerusalem. criticized it. Jovel said. to condemn the U.S. deci-
Jovel said the change Israel claims all of Jerusa- Guatemala’s government Guatemala and Israel have sion in a non-binding reso-
amounts to “a foreign pol- lem as its capital, while the has given no timeline for a long had close ties, espe- lution. Guatemala was one
icy decision, therefore sov- Palestinians claim the city’s move, and Trump has also cially in security matters of nine nations that sided
ereign,” and there is no in- eastern sector, which was not said when a U.S. switch and Israeli arms sales to the with the United States.q