Panama hat miners of the California Gold Rush traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama and Pacific Mail Steamship Company. In 1906 , U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the construction site of the Panama Canal and was photographed wearing a Panama hat, which further increased the hats' popularity. Although the Panama hat continues to provide a livelihood for thousands of Ecuadorians, fewer than a dozen weavers capable of making the finest "Montecristi superfinos" remain. Production in Ecuador is dwindling, due to economic problems in Ecuador and competition from Chinese hat producers. The tamsui hat was a straw hat made in Formosa
La Pintada, Panama the cigar brand Cigarros Joyas de Panamá is located in the town. There is also a small artisans' market that sells Panama hats and various local crafts. La Pintada, Panama La Pintada is a corregimiento and town in La Pintada District, Coclé Province, Panama. It is the seat of La Pintada District. It has a land area of and had a population of 3,882 as of 2010, giving it a population density of . Its population as of 1990 was 3,515; its population as of 2000 was 3,733. The town is located in the hills 13 km northwest of Penonomé.