Where are genuine Panama hats made?

Contrary to popular belief, Panama hats are not made in Panama but in Ecuador.

There are mainly two producing regions of the famous paja toquilla: Cuenca for the lower-priced ones, and Montecristi for the models with the finest weaving. But why this belief that the famous hats come from Panama? Simply because the workers who built the Panama Canal wore similar hats. The popularity of the Panama hat increased even further when a photo of President Roosevelt was taken while he was officially visiting the canal construction site. In the famous shot, the president was indeed wearing a Panama hat model. That explains it all!