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# Sombrero Pintao Festival Returns With December Dates
- URL: https://balboa.news/sombrero-pintao-festival-returns-with-december-dates/
- Published: 2026-10-29T14:42:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-29T14:42:35.000Z
- Author: Balboa News Desk
- Tags: Culture

La Pintada’s National Sombrero Pintao Festival has been rescheduled for December 4–6, giving artisans a new opportunity to sell their work after the October 9 earthquake disrupted the town’s annual celebration.

The fourteenth edition, originally planned for October 23–25, will return under the theme *Festival Solidario del Sombrero Pintao*.

TVN reported on October 28 that the municipality announced the dates following discussions between the Municipal Council and representatives of the craft sector.

Artisans had requested support for organizing the event. The municipality is inviting craftspeople from across Panama to participate without a participation charge, according to the report.

The festival centres on a hat whose appearance reflects an elaborate process of preparing, dyeing, braiding and stitching plant fibres.

Despite its name, the sombrero pintao’s distinctive dark patterns are woven into the hat. MiCultura describes how artisans prepare fibres using plant material and mud to achieve their colours, then sew the braided sections around a wooden mould.

The knowledge passes between generations and involves people who grow and prepare the materials as well as those who weave the finished hats.

UNESCO inscribed the craft’s plant-fibre preparation and weaving techniques on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017.

The hats form part of working life, folkloric dress and community celebrations across Panama. La Pintada is legally recognized as the *Cuna del Sombrero Pintao*, or birthplace of the tradition.

The December announcement establishes new dates for the festival. A detailed timetable, performance programme and visitor admission arrangements were not included in the reports reviewed.

**Sources:** TVN, MiCultura