Malls offer convenience. Online shops offer accessibility. Ready-made products offer speed. While the world hurtles toward fast fashion, the sapateros and creative entrepreneurs of Davao City carry the legacy of Filipino culture and heritage high.

From its roots in Panabo City, the E. L Mar Shoe Shop arrived in Davao City in 1966, founded by craftsman Artemio Mar. Today, his son Eric Mar carries the torch, with this branch carving out its own life in the Bangkerohan market’s bustle.

Amid all the progress in Bangkerohan, one thing has remained constant: the steady flow of customers. Outside the leather store walls, where shoppers come and go as time carries them on, Bangkerohan appears frozen in time.

“Mao ra gihapon ang Bangkerohan sukad sauna… parehas ra gihapon ang kadaghan sa customers,” Mar said.

And for longtime customers, it isn’t just about what they have to offer. It’s about memory.

“Second year high school pa ko, sige na jud ko’g adto dira sa Bangkerohan uban sa akong mama, sukad pag-open nila,” Rose*, a longtime frequenter of the shop, traced their connection to the store back to their younger years.

“Kausa ra ko nakaadto dira, nag-inquire ko kung pila nagpahimo og made-to-order nga sapatos para sakong kasal, ang mga belts jud nila ang gwapo diraa… unya mahal na baya ron ang tool belts, samot na made-to-order,” she continued. 

Yet as Davao shoe stores stand upon decades-old history, the bonafide cobblers are not getting younger, and there are often not enough younger hands on deck.

Several manufacturers, especially in the apparel industry, turn to mass production to meet the growing demand of customers while keeping costs minimal. Although an efficient way of manufacturing goods, this highly mechanized method sacrifices the quality and longevity of the product, such as footwear. 

In contrast, shoemaking in the city remain “not highly industrialized;” they mostly rely on artisans who meticulously put together pairs of shoes, mainly by hand, where some are made-to-order.

That’s exactly what sets E. L Mar Shoe Shop apart.

It simply continues, stitching itself into the routine of the market, into the lives of the people who pass by, and into the memory of a place that refuses to disappear despite the push and pulls of time. 

“Murag legacy na gyud ni siya sa Bangkerohan… sila nalang man gud ang naga-made-to-order og leather products diri, like knife cases, sunglass cases, belts,” Rose expressed.

Editor’s Note: Names marked with asterisks are pseudonyms used at the request of the interviewees. This article was first issued in the January to May 2026 Second Semester Newsletter of Atenews.