Teofilo Garcia (born March 27, 1941) is a Filipino

hatter Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

who is regarded as a National Living Treasure in the Philippines for making ''tabungaw'' hats, a type of Ilocano headwear.

Background

Garcia is known for crafting ''tabungaw'' hat, a type of Ilocano hat made from a variety of

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

(''

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *''Lagena ...

'') known locally as ''tabungaw''. Garcia, who has five children, primarily works as a farmer. He primarily cultivates

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and tends to a herd of cows. During the period when he does neither of these, Garcia grows ''tabungaw''. He is a native of the town of

San Quintin San Quintín or San Quintin may refer to : Chile *San Quintín Glacier Mexico * San Quintín, Baja California ** San Quintín Volcanic Field Philippines * San Quintin, Abra *San Quintin, Pangasinan See also * Saint Quentin * Battle of St. Quent ...

in Abra. Garcia learned how to create ''tabungaw'' hats and weave basket from his grandfather when he was 15 years old. He eventually became known for producing ''tabungaw'' hats – his hats were reputed to be the most sturdy and smooth in his community. Garcia himself would wear ''tabungaw'' hat in his daily life and he could create 100 headwear in a year if the gourd harvest is good. He would also innovate on the creation of ''tabungaw'' hats experimenting on using nito and bamboo fibers as decor. The interior of Garcia's hats would also vary in decoration. On November 8, 2012, he was conferred the National Living Treasure Award.

References

People from Abra (province) 1941 births Milliners Philippine fashion National Living Treasures of the Philippines Living people {{Philippines-artist-stub