The chupalla () is a traditional Chilean horseman's hat made of straw. Many people in rural areas of

Central Chile Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaís ...

use it as well. In addition, it is often used when dancing the

cueca Cueca () is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially declared as such by the Pinochet dictatorship on September 18, 1979 ...

(a Chilean folk dance) and during

Chilean rodeo Rodeo is a traditional equestrian sport in Chile, declared the national sport in 1962. Chilean rodeo is different from the rodeo found in North America. In Chilean rodeo, a team (called a ''collera'') made up of two riders (called ''Huasos'') a ...

s. The name chupalla comes from ''achupalla'', a local name given to a

bromelia ''Bromelia'' is a genus of about 70 plant species widespread across Latin America and the West Indies. It is the type genus of the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Bromelioideae, and its type species is '' B. karatas''. ''Bromelia'' species are ch ...

plant that was used to make these hats. Today, chupallas are made of various types of straw, including

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

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. The phrase ''"por la chupalla"'' may be heard frequently in Chile. It is an

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curse ...

which, loosely translated, means "what the heck!". The chupalla has a flat top and a perfectly circular rim.

References

Hats Rider apparel Chilean culture Chilean clothing Rodeo in Chile {{Clothing-stub