Marikina Is More Than Just the Shoe Capital of the Philippines

(SPOT.ph) When one thinks of Marikina City, one immediately jumps to calling the eastern valley city the Shoe Capital of the Philippines. The city of over 450,000 gained fame in the early aughts for being the place to get the best pairs—from leather closed formal shoes to trendy sandals, if it goes on your feet, there's no better place to get it. But as times changed and shoemaking became more commercialized many shoe artisans closed down their shops and sooner rather than later, Marikina found itself slowly losing its identity.

There are still a few shoemakers here and there, and big shoe brands would still have their outlet stores and factories in the city, but its a far cry from the early '90s when Marikina's city center would be littered with small family owned businesses selling shoes of all kinds. Today, only a handful of these legacy brands remain like Figlia, Rusty Lopez,  and Otto Shoes, but the city continues to thrive. Now more than ever, the city is bustling and teeming with new businesses and new industries taking root.

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Booming businesses in Marikina

Such is the case for the local resto Pan de Amerikana, a zany restaurant-slash-panaderia up in the quiet suburban barangay of Concepcion Dos. They're famous for their 1950s style pan de sal and other filipino baked treats made from recipes passed down from the owner's father. 

Pan De Amerikana is owned by Jundio and Rosie Salvador,  second generation members of Marikina's Salvador family. The first generation Salvadors, originally hailing from Ilocos, moved to Marikina back in the '60s and have since decided to settle down in Marikina. A couple of generations in, they're more than your average city migrants.

The Salvador family soon made themselves key players in Marikina City. As they were a big family, they managed to open many businesses including a restaurant, a chain of gas stations, an architecture and construction firm, a school, and a resort among many other business endeavors. Clearly, the family has found a way to thrive in the city despite not being remotely related to the shoe industry. In a quest to understand why different businesses flock to Marikina, I sat with Mr. Jundio and Mrs. Rosie Salvador, the owners of Pan De Amerikana. I wanted to hear their own experiences and thoughts about what makes Marikina a great place for businesses.

Q: Why did your family choose Marikina as your home base?

Jundio Salvador: "My parents are both from Ilocos. And then they went to Cubao in Quezon City, but then, we got a chance to get a dealership for a gasoline station but one of the requirements was that the owners of the dealership must be residing very near the location, in Marikina. So that's when our family migrated in Marikina in 1969."

Rosie Salvador: "All our children, they don't want to leave Marikina. It's such a great environment kasi. Saan ka pa makakahanap ng ganito, iyong may space ka to walk, to run, and more importantly it feels safe. Safe talaga. Kahit maglakad ka dyan 'pag gabi, you don't feel scared. Nafeel nila na iba talaga sa Marikina"

Q: How would you describe the Marikina culture?

Jundio Salvador: "This is the only city in the Metro that still has the provincial feel. Di nagmamadali ang mga tao. Mga tao dito pare-pareho ang values. 'Pag sinabi mong bawal magtapon ng basura, bawal yan. Malinis dito. Sabi nga ni mayor, hindi niya problema yung malalaking basura o kalat,ang problema niya na alikabok—that's how clean the city is. 'Pag pumunta ka dito lahat ng tao magkakakilala. No one is a stranger. Actually, some business owners here are not from Marikina yet they always say that they don't feel like strangers to the community. There's a sense of camaraderie and community. Bayanihan. Tulong-tulong."

Rosie Salvador: "Example niyan iyong recently held na Hog Fest, where Marikina brought the magic 13 dishes that made the Philippines get the Guinness World Record for most pork dishes served. Marikina kasi yung huli na na-invite and at that point, wala nang sponsorships for the pork, but kami dito sa Marikina, the food business owners, we decided to still participate kahit out of our pockets na. Tulong-tulong na lang. Lahat naman tayo mag-bebenefit from this. It's the willingness to help."

Q: In your opinion, what makes Marikina a great place to start a life, a business, a family?

Jundio Salvador: "We have branches in Quezon City, Makati, and San Juan so all in all somehow we've had exposures with different LGUs. And when it comes to ease of doing business, Marikina siya ang pinaka-friendly for business owners. When I say ease of doing business kasi nga magkakakilala lahat dito. The government employees here ka-jogging mo, kalaro mo sa badminton kakilala mo, medyo mas close. Hindi kagaya sa ibang cities, complete strangers kayo when you go to the LGUs and I think that's an advantage of being a Marikeño. Even those who are from adjacent cities, they feel more welcome here in Marikina. It's the warm welcome.

Rosie Salvador: "For me it's because it is a safe place to be. Safety talaga is a huge factor lalo na 'pag may pamilya ka or negosyo. Siyempre, di ka naman magtatayo ng business kung alam mong magulo doon or pwede kayong manakawan o masaktan at any moment. Awa ng diyos, in the time na nandito kami wala namang nagnanakaw or hold-up or anything like that, so it really makes me believe na safe dito and I don't need to worry about things like that na."

Jundio Salvador: When it comes to safety, it's also the government response that really matters. Dahil meron kang relationship with the LGU, with the barangay, requests are processed much faster. Business owners would tell you that knowing your government officials especially your barangay officials really help and ganoon dito sa Marikina.

As we went on with our conversation, it was soon revealed that Jundio Salvador was not only an F&B business owner in Marikina, he is also the President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce-Marikina Chapter. He became more excited, giddy even, to share more about what's next for the city.

"Basta talaga tungkol sa Marikina, excited ako magkuwento niyan," he jokingly says, as it seems my surprised look at his sudden burst of enthusiasm was apparent. 

"We are blessed here in Marikina that through the Philippine Chamber of Commerce- Marikina Chapter, we are able to put together the different business owners in one organization. All the  different communities are represented in the group so there is collaboration with each other and with the local government." This, according to him, is a key factor in why many projects and endeavors in promoting the city are running smoothly or are underway efficiently. 

According to Jundio, 2024 is a great time to visit, invest, and thrive in Marikina City. Aside from major infrastructure and disaster risk reduction projects that are already underway like the Mega Dam project and the improvement of drainage facilities, Marikina is also heavily investing in becoming a hub for immersive tourism.

Immersive Tourism in Marikina

Marikina as the Chess Capital of the Philippines

According to Jundio, Marikina is already in the process of seeking approvals from the Department of Tourism to be officially called the Chess Capital of the Philippines. This endeavor is close to their heart as Pan de Amerikana is home to the Eugene Torre Chess Museum, the only museum dedicated to the sport of chess in the country. Aside from simply gaining a new moniker, Marikina will also place a bid for the Guinness of World Records for having the world's largest chess piece. According to Jundio, they are aiming to build a chess piece approximately three-stories high to bag the world record. This project is slated to be completed within the year.

Marikina as a Bamboo Bike City 

It's no secret Marikina is one of the cities with the most extensive bike lane networks which is why the city is heavily invested in making Marikina a hub for Bamboo Bikes. These bikes can be used for transportation around the city but more importantly, a long term use for the bamboo bikes would be for conducting bike and heritage tours around the city's historical sites.

Marikina Shoe Expo and Heritage Walking Tours

In a bid to resuscitate the endangered shoe industry in the city, the local government and the private sector are teaming up to hold heritage walking tours in shoe making communities, facilities, and museums . Within the year, tourists visiting Marikina can soon have access to a curated walking tour of the city's historical quarters including but not limited to the Kapitan Moy House, and the Shoe Museum and the certain shoe workshops where guests can have their shoe measurements taken and have these made into bespoke pairs.

But if having a custom made shoe is a little too overwhelming for you, you can still sate your need to shop as these proposed walking tours would eventually end in a massive Shoe Expo where many locally made pairs will be available for purchase.

What makes Marikina a great place?

Sure, there's lot to love and be excited about in Marikina City, but it still doesn't paint a complete picture of why Marikina is a great place to be.

In my conversation with the Salvadors one thing became clear, Marikina is and always has been a great place to be. Heck, some might even say it's the best city ever. There's no denying the city has a bright future ahead of it especially with the national government taking notice of this little probinsyudad in the East and giving it the proper funding, and support it needs to really thrive. But behind every factor the Salvadors shone the spotlight on, a common theme arose— it's the people, the community that makes the city great. The residents' commitment to embibing their city's values of excellence, discipline, and good taste is what gives this little valley city the extra oomph to be more than just the Shoe Capital of the Philippines.

I should know, I'm a proud Marikeño too. 

Also read: This Free Museum in Marikina Puts the Spotlight on the First Filipino Chess Grandmaster

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