The Casa Mancho shoe store, a 'hospital' for footwear with more than 100 years of history

There is a lot of talk and writing about mental health and good eating habits. A little less about oral hygiene, but almost nothing about foot care, the foundation of our body. Except for fetishists of those lower extremities, who do it in private, and sometimes in the media. Or if they become news, for example after a team of mountaineers filming a National Geographic documentary on the north face of Everest accidentally came across a leather boot in September 2024 that appeared when it melted. the ice of the Rongbuk Central glacier. Inside the boot, covered by a sock (with the words AC Irvine embroidered on it), was a foot. The boot, sock and foot are believed to be those of Andrew Comyn Sandy Irvine, a young mountaineer who disappeared while attempting to climb Everest in June 1924 with his partner George Mallory. The members of the expedition who found that trinity of boot, sock and foot handed it over to the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association, the government authority that oversees the north face of the mountain. Having delivered the boot to the Casa Mancho Zapatería Artisan Workshop, located at number 31 Marqués de Urquijo Street in Madrid, founded in 1917 and without changing address or owner family, its manager and shoemaker, Luis Mancho Del Sol (52 years old), in addition to keeping it safe, I would have salivated thinking about how to fix it. In this place at street level there are many pairs of worn-out shoes that need to be repaired, widened, narrowed and/or adapted. Arrangements that Mancho, always dressed in an apron, makes to all types of footwear, especially if they are made with quality materials: castellanos, nautical shoes, moccasins, ankle boots, boots, high heels, sandals, T-shirts, orthopedic and sports footwear (of running, mountaineering, horse riding and golf). Their owners wait for you to make a missed call as a sign that they are ready and can pick them up from this kind of rehabilitation center where almost all the shoes arrive moribund and come out shiny, with better finishes than when they entered.More informationLuis Mancho, the shoemaker who has been running the centenary Casa Mancho shoe store for 15 years. Santi Burgos In Mancho's shoe store, the part intended for customers is the smallest, and on the wall, in the free spaces left by the shelves, a closet and various work utensils, there is a framed newspaper article, photographs and Real Madrid pennants hanging. Adjacent to the counter—where Raquel, his wife, receives and charges customers—, after a few steps, is the repair space, divided into several rooms. In one there is a sanding machine and the tools that Mancho works with—lasts, holds, cans of colored sprays, shoe polish tablets, suede brushes, brass brushes (to lift the hair off the shoe)—the others are full. of suitcases, bags and shoes, diagnosed and waiting for him and his two assistants to fix them. The sander barely stops ringing and the smell of shoe polish permeates everything. A polish made with almond oil so pleasant that Mancho's sister tells the Saphir supplier who distributes it that she is going to use it as a night cream. The framed newspaper article hanging on the wall dates from May 7, 1992. In it you can read that Santiago Bernabéu and Manuel Fraga and their respective wives, Ramón Mendoza, Emilio Butragueño and various nobles, among others, were clients of the house. Also, Mancho's father predicted that traditional family businesses like his were going to disappear because you have to like crafts to do them. It doesn't seem like he was wrong with his prophecy, but his son is determined to contradict him and he remains there. Although it hasn't always been in the shoe store. His father taught him the trade and due to arguments resulting from day-to-day friction he ended up quitting. He went to work in the Royal House, then tried photography. When his father became ill he returned and, more than 15 years later, he has no plans to leave again. Their task is to disassemble and reassemble the footwear to improve it through a delicate and careful repair.Detail of an old telephone in the Casa Mancho shoe store, in Madrid.Santi BurgosWhat this shoemaker does goes beyond repair. By looking at a client's heel you can get an idea of ​​how they walk or what technique they use when running. With that visual information and a couple of other questions (how many pairs of shoes he has and where, how often and how much he goes running), he recommends one shoe fit or another to the customer. One of those adjustments can be a resolado, a change of sole or sole, something in which Mancho has specialized and that he does with the help of Vibram. Since 1937, this Italian sole manufacturer has been promoting the shoemaker's trade by providing material and urging people, especially young people, not to throw away their old shoes, but to repair them, reuse them and even personalize them. A sustainable proposal that rebels against obsolescence that seems to extend beyond technological products. During the more than 15 years that he has been in the shoe store, Mancho has seen how the business and the clientele have evolved. People come to him who are used to going to the shoe store to fix their shoes. People who have been wearing shoes for more than 20 years. Shoes that were expensive at the time of purchase, but over time have turned out to be a good investment. “During that time, how many pairs of bad shoes do people buy?” he asks. When asked how long the new flats or soles he puts in can last and what the price is, he answers that it depends on the weight, the shape and whether the client alternates one shoe with another. If you do, it can last twice as long, because it gives your skin a rest. He estimates about five or six years and a couple of weeks of work on his part. As for the price, between 50 and 85 euros, including labor. Price that depends on whether it is a very technical flooring or not, if it is a fenced and sewn floor, if it has to be cut, wet, potted… «For 85 euros, can someone buy good shoes?» he says. another question.Luis Mancho in the workshop of the Casa Mancho shoe store, in Madrid. Santi Burgos Among all the footwear and work tools that accumulate in boxes, shelves and the floor of the shoe store, the pile of flats or soles with the octagon draws attention yellow Vibram, some black, red and white AirJordan semi-boot sneakers and earth-colored military boots that serve both for field maneuvers and for going to that ephemeral city and Burning Man dusty sky rising in the Nevada desert. Luis Mancho Del Sol does not live off bad shoes, he does off footwear like that leather boot found on the north face of Everest. And if it's a pair, even better.