When the Spanish arrived in Latin America, they tried to force the indigenous people to dress exactly the same. This was of course one method of controlling them. The natives refused to change their way of dress and over the years each area of South America can be identified by the different style of dress and hat. In Cuenca women wear velvet skirts with a heavily decorated bottom that sways whenever she walks. Her blouse can be anything and of course her hat is Panama straw. These hats originated in Ecuador not Panama at all. Usually her hair will be in pigtails and her baby or other portables will be tied to her back with a blanket. We saw many of these ladies today working in the flower market featuring the roses, sunflowers, margueritas and carnations they grow for local use and export.
