An "artist" has designed a brand of custom uh... sneakers... she calls "crossing trainers" that are designed to help illegal immigrants get from Mexico into the United States.
They call the act of crossing the "brinco" - literally "jump" in Spanish. And that is the inspiration for Werthein's crossing shoes, called Brincos.The trainers are adorned with unusual items.
"The shoe includes a compass, a flashlight because people cross at night, and inside is included also some Tylenol painkillers because many people get injured during crossing," [designer Judi] Werthein says. ...
The Brinco is an ankle-high trainer which is green, red, black and yellow.
An Aztec eagle is embroidered on the heel. On the toe is the American eagle found on the US quarter, to represent the American dream the migrants are chasing.
A map - printed on the shoe's removable insole - shows the most popular illegal routes from Tijuana into San Diego.
The best help might be to advise people to obey the law and not to try to cross the desert on foot. Anyway, in true leftist fashion, the shoes are now on sale in chic salons for hundreds of dollars.
A few days after passing out shoes for free to migrants, Werthein begins selling the shoes at a hip boutique trainer store in downtown San Diego.The shop sells only limited edition trainers. A pair of Werthein's Brincos are displayed on a pedestal under glass with a price tag of $215 (£125).
(HT: Bernardo, Boing Boing, and Gizmodo.)
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