Looks like the Boater was THE hat in Havana, Cuba in 1930....

[monbla256]

... here's an interesting B&W newsreel film showing Havana in the mid 1930's. Notice all the Boaters on the heads of most of the men in it. A few felt Fedoras but mostly straw Boaters !! i did not see any Panama's

http://www.panageos.es/videos/cubelas_3162/havana-cuba-1930s_142690.html

 

[Big_e]

Thanks for sharing. The boater is a fine hat and I wore one quit a bit this summer. I put it away for the cooler weather and brought out my wool caps and felts.
Ernest

 

[XPLSV]

It's a shame Cuba isn't the Las Vegas of the Caribean like it should be...I can only imagine how the free market could drastically change the economy and life of the average Cuban citizen.

 

[mayserwegener]

Super news reel! I was in Havana for a fencing world cup tournament back in 1998. It was a real shame to see the place crumbling a part.

 

[monbla256]

Back in the 40s/50s it was but btwn Buatista and the US mob, the Cuban people did'nt fare to well. It would be great if it could return to being the Las Vegas type place, just this time the people of Cuba make the money

 

[azshawn]

Great news reel, thanks for posting! Like others said it's a shame that Cuba isn't as nice as it could be, for Cubans and the rest of us. Boater sightings start around 2:18 BTW.