#lapollera

[lumajans]

#lapollera y #laremerita que mencione en mi history que iba a mostrar que me compre hace unos dias!! @domenech.caaro mira que lindo conjunto!! Lo vi y lo ame!!

[alearauz]

Eres fanático de #LaPollera, pero no te importa la mujer que la lleva puesta. La primera foto es como me gusta verme en pollera (detrás de fotos para la promo del @panamahorrorfilmfest). La segunda una #FotoConceptual #25DeNoviembre que trabajamos @ela_sr y yo hace unos años con @georgespaulinedon @belenui @samanthasenn @magarauz

[taniaclicklove]

La empollerada. Bella, elegante con aires de orgullo, no es para menos, la mujer panameña en su pollera es deleite para el mundo. Gracias a mi bella modelo @luz.luz.luz #panama #chiriqui #naturallight #fotografía #lapollera

[thedistillerymarket]

La Pollera de Panama

Hi! Loren here. If you’ve been following The Distillery on Instagram, you may know me as Clif’s girlfriend and occasional contributor to The Distillery’s blog. I recently returned from Panama and wanted to share my adventures with The Distillery's readers. My mother is from Panama, and I spent a few years living there and try to return as often as possible. Panama is a country I hold dear to my heart and I find its culture and traditions incredibly beautiful.  But in the past few years that I have visited, Panama has changed a lot and is becoming quite modern. Because of these recent changes, my mother and I wanted to capture and experience these traditions before they are forgotten. One of the things that we wanted to do on this trip was to wear the national dress of Panama: La Pollera. I haven’t worn La Pollera since I was little girl and I was excited to dress up!

My mom and I went to the town of Las Tablas, where the dresses are typically made, and were looking for a place to rent one to take a few pictures. We met up with a family friend whose daughter had recently been the Queen of the Mejorana festival (I’ll explain all about this festival in a future blog post).  In true Panamanian fashion, she offered us food, drinks, and a place for my mom to relax, while she dressed me in her daughter's Pollera. She was kind enough to spend 2 hours (!!) doing my hair, applying my make-up, and arranging the traditional pieces of jewelry, all the while keeping us entertained with stories from past festivals.  

Here's a detailed shot that shows the intricacy of La Pollera's hand-sewn embroidery. 

This beautiful dress is one of the most cherished symbols of Panama. It is painstakingly hand-embroidered and is often valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. La Pollera’s origins, as well as the intricate hair combs, can be traced back to 17th century Spanish dress, which was brought to Panama by Spanish immigrants. Each piece of jewelry has a significance, and traditionally 12 pieces are worn. The hair combs are adorned with beads, and in the coastal cities they are covered in fish scales. Over time, this dress has evolved from its Spanish roots to be distinctly Panamanian. Today it can be worn during quinceañeras, festivals, weddings, and any important occasion.

Since returning from this trip I have felt more in touch with my heritage than ever before and it was such a great memory to share with my mom. I learned that although the country is quickly developing, its people will always treasure their traditions, and I realized they are far from lost.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about my country! In the coming weeks, I'll be writing more posts on Panama's food, shopping, and travel- stay tuned!

- Loren