Bootmaker
Armando Rios Jr.
Armando Rios Jr. works beside his father, Armando Duarte Rios, at Armando’s Boot Co. in Raymondville, Texas. He greets customers, keeps the books, and takes the foot measurements each pair is built from, but says the bench is where he would rather be.
Known for
Measures, keeps books, and builds at Armando’s Boot Co.
Related: Armando Duarte Rios · Abraham Rios · Zeferino Rios
Biography
History
Armando Rios Jr. is the son in the father-and-son business at Armando’s Boot Co. in Raymondville, Texas, owned with his father, Armando Duarte Rios. A September 2019 Texas Highways visit found him in his 50s, gray in his hair and whiskers, greeting customers, answering the phone, and keeping the books, and working on boots himself whenever time allowed. “That’s my real love,” he said. “I’d rather be back in the shop.”
For a new customer he traced the feet and recorded measurements of the feet, ankles, and calves, a file he and his father would work from once construction began. His father, then in his late 70s, still put in full days, with three more men working in the back shop.
Sources
Identification and markings
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Sources and references
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