Pumpkin Soap and Shoe Wax

Shoe shine stands are one of the most common forms of street vending furniture that may be seen in towns and cities across Mexico.

There exist various types, although the most often seen are larger, more permanent, fixtures featuring a canvas roof, an upholstered seat and metal footrests.   The seat is set up quite high on the stand and requires a small climb to settle into.  As a result of this prominence, customers need to cast off any inhibitions they may harbor about being perched for all passers-by to see.

The people attending to customers at these stands are always men, usually older men, who tend their pitch day-in, day-out, six days a week.  If you live in Mexico, you’ll come to recognize them as regular constituents of the local neighborhood.

The customers who use this service are most often men, too.  Mexican women do not, as a rule, patronize these purveyors of footwear maintenance, although from time to time you might see female foreign tourists (usually younger women who also combine the event with a picture-shoot to record the experience) taking part in this very long-standing street scene and commercial ritual.

Just below the foot rests is situated the attendant’s tools and materials box, featuring an assortment of brushes as well as pots and other vessels storing an ample selection of paints, waxes and the shoe shiner’s detergent of choice – a tub of pumpkin soap: every ritual begins with a shoe wash, which is undertaken using this mild, natural, detergent.  With the street dust dispatched, the attendant embarks upon the next stage of the ritual; a carefully orchestrated sequence of waxing, painting and polishing routines, concluding with a brisk brush-over and the final touch: a hand polish using a leather cloth tightly drawn across and around each shoe.

The entire ritual takes only a few minutes and the precise fee is discretionary, although fifteen to twenty pesos is reasonable.

You can read more about commerce and markets on our guide to Shops and Shopping in Mexico.