The stately Panama Hat has been sported by such gentleman as Humphrey Bogart and Harry Truman, and has quite an interesting story behind it.

Ironically the Panama Hat is not actually from Panama, but from Ecuador. These hats were first manufactured in the 1600’s and nearly two centuries later made available for export where they were prevalently found in Panamanian ports.

Panama Hats are woven from a very high quality palm derived straw named Toquilla. They are ideal for blocking the strong tropical sun, and as a result were commonly used among construction workers on the Panama Canal. These hats were also picked up by gold merchants as they passed through the isthmus en route to California. In doing so, the gold merchants spread the hats increasing their popularity. In fact, it was around this time that the hats became known as Panama Hats.

From this point it didn’t take long for the fashion elite around the world to catch on to style and sophistication exuded by the Panama Hat and by 1855, the Panama hat made its debut on the Paris Catwalk.

Now making a return to the fashion world, Panama Hats are unmistakably Panama’s errr Ecuador’s most famous handicraft.

In recent years the Republic of Panama has asserted itself on an international level as one of the best retirement locations world wide. This is due to several factors including:

• Panama has a comfortable climate.
• Panama has the US dollar as its currency.
• Panama is a very large banking center.
• Panama is free from major natural disasters.
• Panama has modern medical facilities.

In light of the current boom in Panama, the Ministry of Immigration and Naturalization has imposed new visas. Some of the visa processes have become more flexible in order to generate migratory stability for foreign retirees.

The following four visas are most commonly used by tourists and foreign investors when making the move to Panama:

1. The Retired Tourist Visa
2. The Retirement Visa
3. The Self-Economic Solvency Visa
4. The Small Business Investor Visa

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