In our CWW 8th grade trip we went to Golfo de Morrosquillo. This zone is south of the Caribbean Sea and its the Northern coast of Colombia. It is part of the departments Cordoba and Sucre. We went to Tuchin, which is an indian reservation where the Alcalde and Cacique which are the leaders seek for the protection of the Senu indians and that their rights are respected. Most of the people at Tuchin do Sombreros Vueltiaos made of caña flecha and other crafting from this material. They live out of their craftings especially the Sombreros Vueltiaos which are a famous patriotic symbol.

 

           There are many types of sombreros like the quinciano, diecinueve, veintisiete, etc. The sombreros have this names because of the number of string of caña flecha they are made of. For example, the quinciano has 15 strings, the diecinueve has 19 string, the veintisiete has 27 strings and thats how they get their names. The Sombreros Vueltiaos have different colors, usually black and beige. The color beige is used for the whole sombrero and the black color for the different drawing and symbols they have. These symbols are meaningful for the Senu tribe, they represent an animal or an action or something that represents their culture. Many other sombreros are more contemporary, so they can have any pattern you want or symbol.

 

           To make Sombreros Vueltiaos, people have to pass through a long process. First, the caña flecha has to be planted and you have to wait for 2 years until is ready for its use. Second, you need to get the plant and cut it or rip it until you can get the fiber. Then you put the fiber into water mixed with a component until it dries. To get the color of the fiber you just leave it like that if you want it beige. If you want the black color in the fiber, then you would have to mix it in a bowl with clean dirt and water until it gets the color. To get another color you just get water an specific plant in bowl and mix it with the fiber until it sucks the color. After this you just start crafting the Sombrero Vueltiao!

 

           Our favorite part of the activity was getting to know the process of how the sombreros are made since now we get to understand why they sell them sometimes expensively. Even though the prices are sometimes high, the people who make the hats really don't gain that much since the production of the sombreros cost a lot of money. We also liked that we got to know about this peoples life since more than working making sombreros, its part of their life since they have been doing it since little kids like a hobby, but they also meet their basic needs out them even though they do not gain much. Many of this people didn't get an education since they were kids so they dedicated themselves to improve this art and when they get money out of their masterpiece they would go and pay for an education. We liked that we got to see a different way of life and one where people love and put passion in something they do naturally and for years of practice.

 

           We knew at that moment that Sombreros Vueltiaos was not the thing for us and even more if we do them for a living. We would work to do something we are really bad at and not even know how. We are really bad at it that we wouldn't even survive! We wouldn't have a job that we don't like and not get money out of it to meet our needs. We wouldn't do these hats for a living.

 

           We think that to master the art of making Sombreros Vueltiaos it would take years. People that have practiced and learned their whole life making the sombreros do them easily since they have been doing them their whole life and practiced this art every day for a living. For us it would take maybe more than 5 years to master and perfection this art of making the Sombrero Vueltiao.

The sombreros that we liked the most were the traditional ones like the diecinueve or quinciano since with their different symbols they carry a especial story for the Senu tribe. This sombreros have been used along the years and are the most recognize. We also like to see the symbols that represented the lifestyle of the life style in that tribe long time ago and their interesting believes. What we most like about this sombreros with the symbols, are that they are the ones who represent the most our country, Colombia with a known indigenous tribe, the Senu.