A Cantabrian albarca is a rustic wooden shoe in one piece, which has been used particularly by the peasants of Cantabria, northern Spain.
Cantabrian albarcas are similar to other clogs from Europe, but have significant features and different characteristics in terms of woodworking process and in their use.
The albarquero is a very important traditional craft within the woodwork in Cantabria (Spain). The albarquero was in charge of building the albarcas.
Due to the fact that agriculture develops with difficulty in certain areas of the region, it has been a complementary activity to the traditional workers of the countryside and of pastoralism. This trade was transmitted in a natural way from parents to children, more out of necessity than by vocation, collaborating from a young age in those tasks of easier and simple realization.
The use of the albarcas, very practical footwear in a region as humid and rainy as Cantabria, has been general in the villages by all social classes indistinctly, it is a very appropriate footwear to preserve the feet of water and soil dirt , and especially to carry out the work of the farmers and peasants. It was customary to have a pair of albarcas to fit daily and another new and colorful to wear it on holidays.
For people who are widowed or in mourning, black paint has always been used, and is also the color used by the priests of the villages.
During the seasons in which the works on the hacienda were less important, the albarqueros went up to the mountains and there they cut and prepared wood for the making of the albarcas. They used to go during the months of spring and autumn, when they finished the farming tasks and the collection of the grass. The duration of the stay was conditioned by several reasons, but, especially, by the weather.
The albarcas were completed at home, with the frequent collaboration of the other members of the family.
During his absence, it was the elderly, women and children who continued to maintain the rural activity of the villages.
The last albarquero artisan, Fernando Urquízar de Aro, died on April 17, 2005 in Dúrcal (Granada). With him died the office of albarquero, since he was the last craftsman to make them by hand without the aid of any machine in the whole peninsula.
Congrats, Elle!
