Book on hat weaving presented

On January 29, the official presentation of the book "Production of hat weaving, work and collective cultural heritage" was held, written by Juan Fernando Regalado, Alexandra Baculima, Mario Brazzero, Miriam Montesdeoca, Johana Rojas and Lucila Viteri.

The event was organized by the University of Azuay, the House of Ecuadorian Culture -Núcleo del Azuay- and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC).

The book presented is the result of an ethnohistorical investigation carried out between May and November 2014 to investigate the social and cultural implications of the weaving of toquilla straw hats in Azuay, Cañar and Morona Santiago.

According to Martín Sánchez Paredes, Director of the House of Culture, the work represents a "relevant contribution to the understanding of the past and present of the southern Ecuadorian".

Toa Tripaldi, Director of Communication and Publications of the UDA, pointed out that the book is an example of the current need to weave alliances that allow us to “establish projects and plans to overcome the barriers” generated by the health crisis.

The book presentation was in charge of David Larriva, Editorial and Publications Coordinator of the House of Culture, and Mauricio Velasco, analyst of intangible heritage of the INPC.

The text, according to Larriva, is a fabric that collects “the external understanding of historical processes and the internal understanding of the subjective processes of social and personal memory”.

Velasco read a letter from Juan Fernando Regalado, the leading researcher of the published book, with which he explained the main points covered in the book, including: the manufacture of the hat as an accumulated knowledge and the value of direct production.

Finally, a delivery of a batch of books was made to Blanca Guambaña, representative of the toquilleras of Azuay.

UDA Correspondent