In the current departments of Córdoba and Sucre in the Colombian Caribbean, about five hours away if you travel from the renowned Cartagena de Indias, a community is responsible for cutting, stripping and braiding the Caña Flecha tree looking for the shape of one of the symbols of the Colombian culture.
The old master craftsmen believe that the first hats could be made by their ancestors, indigenous people of the Zenú ethnic group dedicated to agriculture, more than 300 years ago. As a protection they dressed it, while their bodies bowed under the sun to sow some seed or dig up the yucas or ñames.
The masters remember this scene while highlighting their current work as guardians of a cultural treasure, which emerged from the daily life of the peasants in the depths of the tropical dry forest of the Caribbean, and perched right on the heads of famous presidents and athletes.
The hat, with its template, wrap and wing, comes out of the depths of the earth. It is the result of the leaves of the Caña Flecha trees "desvaritas", that is, peeled; of the mud made with rainwater, of the dried leaves of the tree known as Limpia Dientes and of a cooking process that, after five days, will give a deep black color.
Many artisan hands, more than 20 thousand people in the area work for hours in a complex braiding process, which depending on the technique, will produce somewhat rustic hats such as quinceane -15-, or delicate and exclusive such as 19 and 21.
The result: a cultural piece elaborated based on endless cycles. Natural cycles such as the life of "Caña Flecha", which will die two years after birth, but before, its roots will spread to create other plants; or narrative cycles, because tradition and technique are transferred and renewed over the generations of artisans. In the end, each hat, made with more than 20 meters of braid, represents the beginning and end of a story told to many voices but with only one purpose: to keep the identity of a whole town alive.