Shoemaking tradition finds new life

AS CARCAR City’s shoemaking industry struggles to maintain the prominence it once enjoyed, the community is finding new ways to keep the craft alive through theater, film and efforts to rethink how the industry can move forward.

For some residents, preserving shoemaking is no longer only about protecting a livelihood but also about telling its story to a new generation and honoring the people behind every pair of shoes.

In this year’s Halad sa Pagtuo, artistic director Patty Betita of the Kabkaban Festival performance highlighted Carcar’s traditional theater alongside the story of its shoemakers, turning the industry’s struggles into a fantasy tale.

“It’s our reflective way as a Carcaranon, what are we doing to revive this industry that is fading?,” Betita said in a mix of Cebuano and English.

SunStar Cebu reported on July 27, 2026, that Carcar City’s shoemaking industry is under growing pressure from cheap imported footwear, rising production costs and consumers’ shift to online shopping, while the decades-old trade also struggles to attract a new generation of workers.

As older shoemakers retire, fewer young people are willing to take up the craft, raising concerns about the survival of Carcar’s traditional shoemaking industry.

Betita said the concept for their presentation was influenced by the SunStar Cebu article on the declining industry, which prompted a reflection on the role of the community in preserving the craft.

“Because for us to really revive the old tradition, we have to retell the story in a magical way,” Betita said.

“I think this year, we have to question ourselves. Are we going to live in a fantasy, or are we going to take the leap and, of course, be able to live in a reality that our industry is really slowing down?” she said.

Carcar’s young filmmakers

For the Cebu Province Linggo ng Kabataan Short Film Festival 2026, a group of young individuals also produced “Target: 1990,” a film that looks back at the decade when Carcar’s shoemaking industry was at its peak. The film won second runner-up for Best Film.

“Aside from the goal of winning, our main heart of why we made it (short film) was to tell the world about the story of shoemaking of Carcar,” City Information Office staff Jerson Cabunilas told SunStar Cebu.

According to Cabunilas, the title also carries a second meaning, referring to a symbolic production target of 1,990 pairs of shoes, an output that has become increasingly difficult for shoemakers to reach.

The film asks whether Carcar’s shoemaking industry can return to the strength of its past or find a new way to achieve that level of success. Rather than simply recreating 1990, the filmmakers ask whether Carcar can create a new version of it.

The filmmakers hope the film will encourage young residents to see shoemaking as part of their heritage and support locally made footwear.

From storytelling to action

Meanwhile, the City Government, through Mayor Mario Patricio “Patrick” Barcenas, is taking steps to engage with local shoemakers and explore ways to innovate, upgrade and strengthen the sector, Betita said.

“It’s really wonderful because of the impact it also has on the shoemakers. It pays tribute to our shoemakers for their hard work and patience in creating those beautiful products from Carcar,” Betita said in Cebuano.

For a tradition that once helped define Carcar, keeping the story alive may be the first step. The bigger challenge is ensuring that there will still be an industry, and a new generation of shoemakers, to carry it through. / DPC