From San Luis Potosi for the World: Estilo Tribal

By now it’s definitely no secret I’m a huge fan of botas picudas and everything else that has anything to do with what has been coined as el estilo tribal.  If you’re not familiar, it’s the unique Mexican fashion (style) most easily identifiable by the usage of pointy boots or botas picudas.

What I didn’t know, was just how close to home this fashion trend actually is for me.  ¡Imagínense!  El estilo tribal was actually invented in my parent’s home state of San Luis Potosi in Mexico.  How’s that for am unexpected coincidence?  At least according to reports online, these exotic-looking boots were first dreamt up, created and worn in Matehuala, San Luis Potosi, when the young people there decided they needed a new fashion to go along with the new music they were enjoying.

That new music was a combination of pre-Hispanic and African beats, cumbia colombiana, as well as more modern sounds, all blended together by a deejay and played at local ranchos and pueblos around the state.  Think 3BallMTY here.  Formally, this genre of music became known as guarachero tribales.

In order to better suit the unique style of dancing, rumor has it people then wanted pointier boots to show off their moves.  Before we all knew it botas picudas started getting longer and longer at the tip, curving inwards and upward, and all of a sudden they were a runaway hit online and on social media platforms.  Everybody had something to say about Mexican pointy boots!

Today, this singular sense of style has spread like wildfire across Mexico and the United States… showing up most frequently in states like Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma.  I know here in Texas there are certainly a good number of venues where one could find botas picudas on any Friday or Saturday night.

For me, the trend represents a sense of happiness, a spirit of creativity, a youthful flair for breaking the rules and going against the grain.  That, and they are just so much fun and unusual to appreciate.

Now that I know we share similar roots, I am even more infatuated!