Spot.ph steps into the world of Marikina's craftsmanship and heritage with Zapatería, an artisan shoe shop nestled in the heart of Marikina City, Philippines. This Filipino shoe maker are experts in their craft and aim to preserve the culture is shoemaking and create works that tell a story and stand the test of time.
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00:00Hi, I'm Glyce Vitulan, I'm the Managing Director of Zapateria.
00:29The founders of Zapateria, Eunix, is a fifth generation shoemaker.
00:35She hails from a long line of shoemakers here in Marikina City.
00:41So their family started being part of the shoe industry since its founding in 1887.
00:47In 2016, Eunix's father, a fourth generation shoemaker and designer, Rico Santana,
00:55got into an accident. He survived that accident, but it sparked an epiphany on Eunix that
01:02after her dad, nobody else will continue this heritage of craft in their family.
01:08That's why she put up Zapateria.
01:14Marikina is the Philippine shoe capital. Since the 1950s, we've had our prime.
01:19Sometimes when you ask somebody, when you think of Marikina,
01:23what's the first thing that comes to mind? It's often the shoes.
01:26Hyper focusing on the community or the industry of shoemaking,
01:31despite common notions that it's a declining one, it's actually well thriving.
01:37There are more manufacturers and shoemakers now than there were 10 years ago,
01:42and that is greatly due to the efforts of our local city government
01:47and private organizations that have been pushing for more people to be part of it.
01:54Unfortunately, the reality still stands in terms of our craft.
01:58Our artisans are aging, and a lot of their expertise are going with them as they pass on.
02:07That's why on our end, in Zapateria, we want to ignite that sense of creativity and ingenuity
02:13on the younger folks so that they will be immersed in this culture, learn from the people who spent
02:20decades or almost majority of their lives doing this craft so that we can pave a better future for it.
02:30I suppose the vision of Zapateria is to really bring Filipino footwear out into the world.
02:37When we were starting out, our founder had a shift in mindset as well because
02:43having being brought up in a family that is into footwear, being exposed to Filipino
02:48footwear, knowing its pitfalls and its climbs and everything,
02:52she would often find herself comparing the Philippines to China.
02:56Like, why can't we be the next China and, you know, maximize manufacturing?
03:01Or why can't we be the next Italy making designer high-end footwear?
03:07And when she started mingling with these artisans, talking to them, learning about their craft,
03:14it started a thinking process or philosophy and a goal that why can't we be the first
03:20Philippines and bring Filipino footwear and our creations out into the world?
03:25And perhaps our own locals would learn to appreciate it more and find love or rather a soulmate
03:34for our shoes out there, make it their day, make it their, you know, their most prized possessions.
03:39Because for us as makers, our creations, they are more than just something that we
03:46make on the production line. At the end of it, once it's boxed and sold to somebody,
03:51we want that pair of shoes to be part of their story.
03:55So we want our Filipino creations to be part of the world's story.