Lustrabotas

Llamas causing a traffic jam

A funny thing happened on the way downtown yesterday. We got on a busy highway that leads from our side of town up to the center. It was early morning and the cars were beginning to clump together a bit, leading us to believe it was only a result of work traffic. As we moved forward a little, we noticed a large herd of llamas trotting down the sidewalk with 3 herders doing their best to keep them out of the right-hand lane. Well, llamas obviously never learned the rules of the road because they kept wandering out in front of cars and generally causing chaos. It's a funny thing to see fuzzy llamas moving down the highway and even more perplexing trying to figure out where they came from and where they were heading- there aren't too many pastures or fields in the La Paz area...

So, our purpose for going into town was to meet up with a group of shoeshiners who are in the testing phase of a new tourism project. First, a little history on shoeshiners. Bolivia is littered with hundreds of these mostly young men (although there are some older men and some women) who spend anywhere from 6-12 hours on the streets a day to shine shoes for about $.06 per shine (whoa!). They tend to wear ski masks and hats- some say to block out the fumes from cars, but most admit it's because they are embarrassed of what they do for a living.

Me and Julie with our shoeshining friends.

There are a good number of kids who live on the streets that shine shoes, but most shiners are actually just trying to make a few bolivianos to help out their families or get themselves through school. They are looked down upon by the rest of society, often blamed for thefts on the streets, and according to Lonley Planet, are a general nusciance. We've had the opportunity to get to know a few guys through the ministry of our friend Randy, who spends time with these young men, teaching them about God and encouraging them to rise above the stigmas that are placed on them and make a way for themselves in the world. There is another NGO here that is also encouraging the shiners and supporting them in a new business venture that was birthed by Wilmer, a 25 year old shoeshiner who is determined to do something more than shine shoes all his life. His idea, and now the idea of many guys, is to invite tourist groups to come and learn about what they do. You are given a mask, gloves, old clothes, and a hat, as well as your own shoe shine box and materials. The guys demonstrate how to shine and then give you a chance to practice on them before you hit the streets, dressed anonymously as a Bolivian shoeshiner. As you walk, they explain the ins and outs of shining, joining specific associations that give you the right to shine in a certain area, and the average salary of a shiner (between $2-$5/day). Then, you split up, each person or small group of people having a shiner as their guide, and you shine shoes. Initially, I was intimidated by the people walking by, knowing that they were all usually in a rush, and lacking confidence in my new shining skills. But Ramiro, my guide, would send all his business my way and encourage me along as I shined. I gratefully received my first $.06 from the mother of the little boy whose shoes I had just shined, and my confidence and excitement grew. We sat on our tiny, wooden seats for a little while longer, chatting about the life of a shoe shiner, Ramiro's excitement for the new seminary class he just started, the home church that recently began meeting in his home, and his hopes for the future. He's 26 years old and has been shining for 13 years, always with the intent of helping contribute to his families needs, and now to help him finish college and continue with seminary classes. Most people look right through him when they walk by. I shined one more man's shoes before we got up and the official history tour began. Ramiro took me through the downtown area, showing me the well known plazas and sharing information on the government and different phases of Bolivia's history and culture.

Why is that big gringo shining shoes??

After a few hours of shining and walking, we met back up with Scotty (who makes one big, scary shoeshiner) and our friend Julie to head back to their office. We had a small wrap up session and put in our thoughts about how they can improve and then enjoyed a typical (huge) Bolivian lunch with the group and a bunch of other shoeshiners that come to shower and eat in the building. It was the first time I have ever been able to go out on the streets and blend in as a Bolivian..what a strange feeling!

Would you be able to recognize me?

I'm hopeful for this team that their project will be a success and a way of opening eyes to who shoeshiners really are. I'm grateful we had the chance to experience a few moments of life in their shoes.

Shining shoes in front of the plaza San Francisco