Between one generation and the next, times change, and that change seems even greater when it comes to generations of artisans. Thirty years ago, when Rangel Antonio was a child, it would never have crossed his mind to stop braiding fiber in order to stare at a phone screen, as so many children do today. For him, weaving was simply a natural part of life. Caña flecha, the fiber that made the iconic sombrero vueltiao famous, has always been part of the lives of the people living in the Zenú Indigenous territories of Sucre and Córdoba, forming the foundation of their local economy. Many began braiding it when they were so young that it seemed they had been born knowing how. Although children are still taught the craft today, the rhythms of contemporary life—with its screens and new aspirations far removed from working with one’s hands—often keep them from fully embracing the trade. That is why Rangel Antonio is deeply committed to finding new ways of teaching and bringing younger generations closer to the craft.

In his own case, childhood was inseparable from weaving. His parents, Georgina Ruiz and Carlos Benítez, taught him to braid, just as they did his three younger sisters. Their first lessons were not with caña flecha, but with banana and popocho leaves, which they would split into thin fibers with a fingernail before practicing the simple over-and-under movements needed to create a basic seven-pair braid, the decorative band that encircles the crown of every hat. More intricate patterns soon followed, each with its own evocative name: barriga e’ lobo (wolf’s belly) with seven pairs, corazoncito (little heart) with nine pairs, granito de arroz (grain of rice), and galillo e’ vaca (cow’s throat). Every hat passed through the hands of the entire family. His father began by making the plantilla (the base), his mother wove the crown, and together she and the children stitched the brim. The final step was attaching the decorative braid around the crown. Through this process, Rangel and his sisters learned every stage of hat-making, while also understanding that the craft paid for their school supplies, snacks, and daily expenses. By the age of ten, they were all capable of making any part of the hat.

He has followed the same tradition with his own children. There are five of them at home, and they work just as Cordoban families have long done: the father makes the base, the mother weaves the crown, and the children finish the brim and decorative band—one hat a day. The only difference is that now, if they sit down to braid at night, they do so beneath an electric lightbulb. In his childhood, after dinner, the family gathered until ten o’clock around the flame of an oil lamp, sitting together in a circle on wooden stools, their faces blackened by the soot from the wick. They also braided before school each morning and as soon as they returned home, leaving the afternoons free to play.

Rangel Antonio is not only committed to producing exceptional sombreros vueltiaos; he is equally devoted to ensuring that the knowledge behind their creation continues to be passed on within his community. He constantly asks himself how to inspire children—the future of the craft—and how to introduce this tradition to the wider world. For that reason, he has become not only an artisan leader but also a spiritual leader within his community. Every week he gathers the fifty children he is training, while recognizing that each family also carries the responsibility of continuing their education at home.

One year stands out as especially significant for both the community of El Porvenir and for Rangel in his role as its leader: 2022. That year, fourteen families came together to form an association in search of new opportunities for marketing their hats. It became a turning point. They officially organized, attended their first craft fair, received guidance in developing the Sombrero Vueltiao Route, and, before the year ended, were invited to welcome travelers arriving on National Geographic expedition cruises. These voyages focus on nature, history, and conservation while partnering with local communities to strengthen their economies. Since the cruises first began visiting the Colombian Caribbean in 2022, visitors to El Porvenir have been shown every stage of the process: how a caña flecha leaf is harvested and stripped down to its central fiber, how it is scraped, split, naturally dyed with clay, braided, and finally sewn into a finished hat.

Having woven since he was only four years old, this artisan has become an incomparable guide for anyone wishing to understand the full depth of the craft. He knows that everything his community has achieved comes from this remarkable fiber, and he speaks with great pride of the fact that Zenú braiding has been officially recognized as part of Colombia’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Every time he shares his knowledge, he remembers his grandparents and all those who came before him. Their memory strengthens his resolve, reminding him that his love for the hat—which is at once his livelihood, his sustenance, and his way of life—will continue to beat within him and within future generations, no matter how much dedication it requires.