Specialty shopping in South America
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A
Barranco
This old hat factory has an interesting museum where you can see how panamas were made over the years and witness them being made in the present. Upstairs there’s a nice café and a cheesy exhibit where you can dress up as a chola cuencana – hat, skirt and all. Plenty of hats are for sale, and you can even custom order a panama (especially important if you have a big head).
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Artesania Alpasuri
This humble family-owned shop sells handmade alpaca goods of all types, from sweaters to hats and mittens. If you're a knitting fan, you can even buy skeins of yarn dyed in natural colors.
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Hat Shopping
Cuenca is the center of the panama hat industry and one of the best places to buy straw hats. Cuenca's hat tradition - and its haberdasheries - can be roughly divided into two types: hats for export (panama hats) and hats made for and used by local indigenous people.
Visit one of Cuenca's traditional hatters on Tarqui and you'll see hundreds of refurbished white straw hats, tagged for their owners and hanging everywhere. They usually have a few top-quality hats for sale, too. Other hat shops are tourist oriented.
Check out: Casa del Sombrero Alberto Pulla, Sombreros Don Migui (Tarqui near Calle Larga), Barranco, Homero Ortega P & Hijos, and La Paja Toquilla, This small…
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Alfonso Sulca Chavez
Ayacucho is famous as a handicraft center, and a visit to the Museo de Arte Popular will give you an idea of local products. The tourist office can recommend local artisans who will welcome you to their workshops. The Santa Ana barrio is particularly well known. The area around the Plazuela Santa Ana has various workshops, including that of Alfonso Sulca Chavez, whose family has been weaving here for three generations.
Sulca's weavings cost considerably less when bought directly from the artist rather than from shops in Lima.
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B
Casa del Sombrero Alberto Pulla
The hats of Cuenca’s most famous hatter, the charming 81-year-old Alberto Pulla, have graced the noggins of presidents, celebrities and hundreds of local indigenous women. In the early days he worked with chemicals that damaged his throat and has since lost his voice, but he still welcomes visitors into his shop with a smile.
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C
Jatum Maqui
A stone's throw from Gringo Alley, this youthful artists' workshop sells ceramics with quirky contemporary designs. They'll even box 'em up in international-post-ready packaging for a small additional charge.
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D
Galería Latina
This well-stocked handicrafts shop offers an excellent selection of high-quality items: tagua carvings, colorful Andean weavings, textiles, jewelry, sweaters and handmade items from across Latin America.
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E
Agua y Tierra
This beautiful high-ceilinged gallery specializes in authentic art and crafts, including pottery, textiles, paintings and more, all handmade by indigenous tribespeople living in the Amazon jungle.
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F
Homero Ortega P & Hijos
More akin to a hat emporium, this is Ecuador’s best-known hat seller. The company exports around the world and has a huge selection of high-quality men’s and women’s straw hats.
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Chac Cueros
Chac Cueros specializes in high-quality goods made from the hide of capybaras, which is valued for the suede produced from their tan, naturally dimpled skin.
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H
Sombreros Don Migui
A hatter that works more with the local market, this old place sells panamas from $15, including durable dobles, which are double woven.
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I
Taller and Museo Mérida
Taller and Museo Mérida offers striking earthenware statues that straddle the border between craft and art.
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Taller Mendivil
Taller Mendivil is nationally famous for its giraffe-necked religious figures and sun-shaped mirrors.
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Taller Olave
Taller Olave sells reproductions of colonial sculptures and pre-colonial ceramics.
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La Paja Toquilla
This small store sells some stylish straw hats in both men's and women's styles.
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M
La Casa de la Alpaca
La Casa de la Alpaca has a good range of quality alpaca products.
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Sogas Areco
Check out this place for horse gear and gaucho clothing.
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Alpaca 111
Alpaca 111 has high-quality alpaca products.
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Talabartería Lo de Ivan
Specializes in gaucho regalia.
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