Shoe Shine $15 Pesos

There are in Parque Enriquez fifteen or twenty shoeshine stations staffed by shiners of all ages, who provide a first rate shine for $15 pesos.

The shiners first scrub the shoes with soap, thoroughly dry them, paint them with dye which they brush when dried, add three or four applications of polish, buff with the clasic snapping cloth action, and finally they paint the edges of the soles.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down in the chair of the older gentleman at the right wearing my favorite pair of walking boots, which I have had for over ten years and which were resoled once by Dave the Cobbler in Seattle. I retrieved the boots during my recent trip North.

Before leaving the Satsop Valley I had been using the boots for working around the place and had not cleaned and greased them before I left. So when I sat down in the older fellow’s chair the leather was in pretty rough shape, very dry and faded. He handed me a copy of the Diario Xalapa and worked for about a half hour revitalizing my boots. I walked away with a nice shine. He asked for $15. pesos; but, since he worked so long on them and did such a nice job I gave him thirty.

While the gentleman was working my shoes over the younger fellow at the station next door looked on. Since that day each time I have passed both the older fellow and his younger neighbor have greeted me warmly.

I had decided during the last shine that I would have the younger fellow provide the next. Today I went for another shine and found the younger fellow’s station staffed by an even younger fellow, who was lounging in the chair awaiting a customer as I approached. He did a first rate job. Just look at that shine.

As you can see the chairs are covered with canopies provided by advertisers. With the passing of the elections the canopies advertising various political candidates have recently been replaced by a variety of others.