Michael: Watching sombreros being made

It is early Friday morning and soon, I will walk into the city of Sucre with Patricia, my hostess, for our next day’s activities.
Yesterday afternoon, we had what I consider to be the quintessential Bolivian experience. We toured a sombrero factory. We were met by a round-faced man who appeared to be in his seventies in his nice, second-floor office. He had samples of his hats resting on pins on one wall. He had a large-screen television monitor where the picture was split in quarters, each showing the view from a surveillance camera at locations around the plant. He offered us beverages (Everyone offers us beverages everywhere we go.) and then we strolled downstairs and across a paved driveway where deliveries were made, and then into the plant.
The hats are made of wool, and the first room we visited was a massive storehouse of wool. There was wool on the floor, wool in piles, wool on tables, and wool cob-webs hanging from the rafters. Some workers wore breathing protection, others not. One worker piled wool into a vat where it was washed and then laid out in a 3” thick mat. In the next several rooms, workers coaxed the wool into thinner and more tightly pressed sheets, working with various styles of irons and presses. In some areas, the wool was hand-stretched over forms to give it a conical shape. There were vats of dye where hats could be impregnated with desired colors.
It was clear that the work was very strenuous and everyone worked at a steady but rapid pace. It was hot, loud, and dusty. Some workers wore ear protection, others not. Some of the machinery had open belts and gears, waiting to catch a loose sleeve or strap of passers-by. The OSHA representatives who often called on my printing plant when I owned it would have messed their trousers.
The last room we visited was the warehouse of finished products. My host motioned to me to try on some of them. When I found one I liked, a wide-brim, black, gentleman’s hat, I asked him how much it cost – “cuanto cuesta?” He indicated by hand-motions and Spanish words that it was his gift to me. He gave each team member the hat of his or her choice.
We then returned to his office where were – yes – offered more beverages. He opened a bottle of red wine and toasted our visit, “Salute!” We asked about his trade area, and he said his hats were exported around the world. We asked how he got into the business. He explained, and Judah translated, that the factory was once owned by the father of a friend. The friend took ownership and the current owner became a partner, and eventually sole owner. Surprisingly, the current owner was a former gynecologist. He said, “I used to work where other people go to play.” Then he gave us each a miniature sombrero and finally a nice bottle of red wine, topped by another of the miniature sombreros. We gave him several lapel pins we’ve been carrying, with the American and Bolivian flags flanking the Rotary International logo. Our gift was almost an embarrassment when compared to what he’d given us, but he seemed genuinely touched. We left amidst a flurry of words of thanks and friendship.
Michael