Getting a Shine

One of my failings is that I hate shining my shoes.  Fortunately, "boleros" (shoeshiners) and their stands are ubiquitous along the sidewalks of the major streets of Mexico City.  When I first started renting the apartment where I now stay in 2017, I found a "bolero" on Filadelfia Street across from the World Trade Center.  The young man always did a good job, and I went to him whenever I needed my shoes shined.  I have to admit, I felt sort of special, sitting on an elevated chair under a canopy, while the "bolero" attended to my shoes.

After a fourteen-month absence due to the pandemic, I began to travel once again to Mexico City in April of 2021.  However, my "bolero" was not in his usual spot, although the stand was still there.  Finally, on this trip, as I was walking down Filadelfia, I saw him at his stand.  However, he isn't there if I pass in the early morning or late afternoon.  

My favorite loafers were looking rather disgraceful after taking several long walks.  So last week, after visiting the exposition at the World Trade Center, I saw that he was at his stand polishing a gentleman's shoes.  I crossed the street and waited for him to finish with his customer.  The "bolero" recognized me, and I climbed up onto the chair.

I just happened to find a video on YouTube of a "bolero" next to the World Trade Center.  It's not my shoeshine guy.  This guy is set up around the corner on Insurgentes Avenue.  However, you can watch the entire process (the video lasts nearly twenty minutes) here.  I'm not sure that my "bolero" spent a full twenty minutes on my shoes, but when he was done, they looked like new.  Actually, they are shinier than new. 

The cost for the shine was 25 pesos (that's $1.32 in U.S. dollars).  At that price I can have my shoes shined as often as I like!