Mexican pointy boots (Spanish: ''Botas picudas mexicanas'') or tribal boots (Spanish: ''botas tribaleras'') are a style of pointed

fashion boot A fashion boot is a boot worn for reasons of style or fashion (rather than for utilitarian purposes – e.g. not hiking boots, riding boots, rain boots, etc.). The term is usually applied to women's boots. Fashion boots come in a wide variety of ...

s made with elongated toes that were a popular footwear for men in parts of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The boots were commonly worn in an ironic and comedic way by males involved in the

trival Tribal guarachero, also known as trival, is a music genre that fuses electronic dance music with cumbia or certain rhythms from regional Mexican music genres. Tribal guarachero is sometimes referred to as "3ball". Despite the similarity betwe ...

music subculture that thrived in the early 2010s.

Origin and expansion

The boots originated in an unknown location sometime before 2002 and were used in Mazatlan, Sinaloa during carnival by many performers. Following their creation, the trend had expanded to parts of the United States, particularly in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, but also in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Design

The pointy boots are made by elongating the toe of normal boots by as much as , causing the toes to curl up toward the knees. The boots are then further modified according to the wearer's personal taste. Alterations incorporate paint and

sequins A sequin () is a small, typically shiny, generally disk-shaped ornament. Sequins are also referred to as paillettes, spangles, or ''diamanté'' (also spelled ''diamante''). Although the words sequins, paillettes, lentejuelas, and spangles can ...

and can go as far as adding flashing

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

s, disco balls, and mirrors.

Dancing

The appearance of the pointy boots has coincided with the popularity of " tribal guarachero" electronic music, hyphy tribal or tribal. Tribal music has been described as "a mixture of Pre-Columbian sounds mixed with fast

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

bass and

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 130 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including Benny Benassi, Skrillex, Steve Aoki ...

beats." Boys and men that wear the pointy boots have formed all-male troupes (Group dance teams) to compete in danceoffs at local nightclubs to tribal music. Participants in the contests spend weeks choreographing their dance moves and fabricating their outfits which commonly include "matching western shirts and

skinny jeans Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans (when made of denim) are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style includ ...

to accentuate their footwear." In Monterrey, prize money ranges from $100 to $500. The prize often includes a bottle of

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...

. The dance troupes have reportedly become so popular that they are being hired to entertain "at weddings, for quinceañeras, celebrations of the Virgin of Guadalupe and bachelorette parties" and there is even one report of a crew entertaining after a funeral.

References

External links

* , ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'', April 1, 2011 * ,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, May 16, 2011 {{Folk costume 2010s fashion Boots Mexican clothing San Luis Potosí 2000s fashion American clothing Footwear

Origin and expansion

Design

Dancing

See also

References

External links