Avarcas, a little piece of Menorca on your feet
Madrid held the fair Momad Shoes recently, where the main abarcas producers (avarca in Catalan) attended. This fact has proved the good prospects of the sector. This type of footwear is one of the main identity stamps of this Balearic island.
It has a long history so we have to go back to the presence of Carthaginians on the island several centuries before Christ, when the slingers who fought as mercenaries in the service of the Carthaginian troops against the Roman invasion, wore them as footwear. The geostrategic position of Menorca in the center of the Mediterranean made Menorca be a dark desire for many villages.
After being used for warlike purposes, it was the turn to rural use. It turns out that many centuries later they were used by the peasants — in Menorca are known as “pagesos” — due to the special characteristics that made them optimal to work on the field: flexible and yet resistant footwear.
In its beginnings, the skin from the cattle of the Island was the material this footwear was made of. However, since the twentieth century, accompanied by the implementation of the car, sole material was changed for rubber tires in disuse. This was a qualitative improvement in the design because it made the foot more protected from moisture and against the fieldstones. In addition, it is a non-slip material and more flexible.
In the last decades, “Menorquinas”, as this footwear is also known, it has been used not only by the peasants and other workers but also by the rest of Menorca inhabitants and gradually by the tourists who began to discover our beloved Island since the early 60's
Everyone appreciates avarcas virtues, being comfortable and resistant footwear, and at the same time made in Menorca. Members of the Spanish royal family also used to rely on this footwear. Nowadays they can be found in tons of colors and fabrics, thanks to technological advances, but they still retain the genuine Menorcan stamp. You can find them in Avarcashop stores in Ses Moreres street, Mahón, and in Cales Fonts, in Es Castell.
