About the project

Every day, 3,000 shoe shiners take to the streets of La Paz, Bolivia, to find customers. They wear ski masks to prevent being recognized and discriminated against, as shoe polishing is despised by society. The masks make them invisible while uniting them into a social tribe. This collective anonymity makes them more resilient to society’s criticism and gives them a new shared identity. Over three years, Estol worked with 60 shoe shiners to create “Shine Heroes”, a project that turned them into heroic figures in a photo comic book.

No longer portrayed as outsiders, they save the day by cleaning dirty shoes. Together they planned the scenes, integrated local elements of the urbanity of El Alto and produced photo shoots. These shoeshine heroes thus became both producers and protagonists of a visually striking urban essay that uses creativity and irony to confront the social stigmatization of their community. The exhibition is sponsored by the BAT Foundation.