Porqueres (Mallorcan work shoes) — Traditional Mallorcan object

What is

Low work shoe from the Mallorcan pagès. It is called Porquera (plural, Porqueres). Today it is also a street shoe, in colors. The program of the Blessed (Santa Margalida) accepts it as "calçat a l'antiga", along with the avarques .

How is

Closed, flat leather shoe (classic single-color version).
Design feature: the flaps go above the instep, not inside. This way no dirt enters when walking through the countryside (Maruja Mira, Sóller, 2024).
Sole: today made of recycled rubber (Ben Calçat, Sóller). The tire sole in the old pigsties: (to verify). In Menorca it has been documented for the avarca since World War I.
Old material: leather; that it was pell de porc, (to verify): it does not appear in any source consulted.

How is fa

Leather cut and sewn by hand; It is then assembled and glued to the sole (Mira workshop, Sóller).
Bench shoemaker job. See espardenyes i calçat (Inca) and eines de sabater .

Com s'usa

For the field and the harvest: with them they climbed the olive trees. «Ideal for working in the fields or with pigs» (Mira).
Today: daily shoe of students, neighbors and tourists; and party shoes with the vestit de pagès .

Vocabulary

porquera / porqueres: Mallorcan work shoe described above (use name; not included in the DCVB).
porquer: in Mallorca, soll or pig corral (DCVB, meaning Mall.). Possible origin of the name (to verify).
patatera: boot from the potato harvest, with the same flap on the outside (Sóller).
calçat a l'antiga: traditional footwear accepted in the Beata: avarques, becauseres.

History

20th century (to be verified): pagesia work shoe; a supplier sold them in Sóller and surrounding areas.
1975: Maruja and Paco Mira open a shop-workshop in Port de Sóller (belts, bags, sandals, hats).

-c . 1995: the pork supplier leaves him; There were few manufacturers left on the island. The Miras take over production.

After: they use scraps of colored leather: the filth goes from work shoe to street shoe.
2024: on sale from €68 (Majorca Daily Bulletin). Jaume, Maruja's son, plans to continue the workshop.

On veure'n

Workshops-shop in Sóller (Mira family; Ben Calçat, c/ de sa Lluna 74; to verify if they are the same business).
Museu del Calçat i de la Indústria d'Inca (context of the trade).
Procession of the Blessed (Santa Margalida, first Sunday of September).

Why is it design

A flap solves a problem: turned outwards, it closes the path to the ground.
Honest shoe: few pieces, leather, sewn; lasts for years ("there are clients who have had them for 20 years").
Clear example of updating without nostalgia: same pattern, new color, new audience.
Repairable and with recycled sole.

For the project

Case study “from work shoe to street icon”. Interview and photos at the Mira workshop (Sóller).
Possible piece: edition with recovered tire sole and local leather; or filth with language stealing .
Pending: origin of the name, date of appearance and ancient manufacturers (ask the Museu del Calçat d'Inca).

Frequently asked questions

What is Porqueres (Mallorcan work shoes)?

Low work shoe from the Mallorcan pagès. It is called Porquera (plural, Porqueres). Today it is also a street shoe, in colors. The program of the Blessed…

What are the traditional words for Porqueres (Mallorcan work shoes)?

Some words: calçat a l'antiga, patatera, porquer, porquera / porqueres.

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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