Ramon El Limpia Bota

For the last 38 years, Ramon has pushed his rolling shoe shine box from his apartment to a spot he has obtained permission for on Calle Ocho between 4th and 5th Avenue, in Little Havana. In his earlier years, he worked construction in the morning and would shine shoes at night. But at 85 years old, he only has the shoe shining as a means to supplement his social security benefits. 

And for nearly 23 years, I have driven by Ramon and never stopped to talk to him or to use his service. But yesterday I stopped to talk to him. Not sure why, but I did. For some reason he caught my attention when I noticed how old he has gotten and how he is still dedicated to a craft that is almost obsolete (at least in Miami). 

Ramon explained that most days he still services a couple of customers but some days he goes without any work. He’s not sure what happened to all his customers which included Police Officers with their patent leather boots or Lawyers heading to court in their suits. It was heartbreaking to see him trying to make sense of it all. He figured a lot of those folks have retired and can no longer visit him.

We spoke for a while and I learned of his family and his days in the military in Cuba and how He migrated to Miami in 1980, after his mother passed.    

When it was time for me to go, he asked me to tell everyone about him and invite them to come visit him to get their shoes cleaned or shined.

So that’s what I’m doing. If you happen to be going towards Brickell or Downtown via La Calle Ocho, stop by and visit Ramon. I know I will, I can’t allow him to feel abandoned or useless in our society.