Bootmaker
Ignacio Martinez (El Vaquero Boots)
Ignacio Martinez spent most of his career at Raymondville's now-closed Rios Boots, where he was part of the team that built boots for President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the 1954 Falcon Dam dedication. By 2002, at 73, he was still working out of his garage under the name El Vaquero Boots alongside his son, known for flaming-red rose inlays, braided-lace piping, and lizard-skin scallops.
History
Ignacio Martinez ran El Vaquero Boots out of his garage in Raymondville, Texas, with his son. Texas Monthly's June 2002 roundup of top bootmakers listed him at 73 years old, among the old masters still working that spring, and said he had spent most of his career at Raymondville's since-closed Rios Boots.
The profile credits him as part of the team that built boots for President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the 1954 dedication of the Falcon Dam. Prices in 2002 started at $300, with a turnaround of six to eight weeks. Ranch families named as customers — the Armstrongs, Klebergs, and Yturrias — are a reputation note rather than documented pairs.
Sources differ on his first name's spelling: one Texas Monthly reprint prints "Ignaclo," while the magazine's original "Alive and Kicking" piece prints "Ignacio." His nickname was "Nacho." A separate business directory lists the same shop address and phone number under the name "Jose Martinez," where the son is named elsewhere as "Joe" — that discrepancy is left open rather than merged into one identity.
Known for
Built Eisenhower's boots for the 1954 Falcon Dam dedication