Blackness and identity: In Cuba, an Afro hair care initiative goes to the roots and beyond

Afro-hair is not just a matter of aesthetics and fashion. Enslaved people used to create paths and maps in their curly hair to guide themselves when escaping their oppressors. Additionally, they would store wheat seeds in their hair, which they later planted in their territories. That is why, when they were forced to cut their hair or straighten it with chemical products, they were also cutting off their identity and roots with their culture.

After the 1960s and the Black Power movement in the United States, wearing Afro hair became a political act of resistance, a symbol of reclaiming Black self-determination and “Blackness as identity”.

In Cuba, at least in the last decade, the wave of vindication has also been driven by various ventures seeking female empowerment and fighting against racial discrimination against Black women and men.

Rizo Libre, a community hair salon where Afro-hair care is discussed through workshops and activities, is one of the initiatives aiming to rescue Afro-descendant roots on the island. For its creator, Yadira Rachel Vargas, the initiative aims to break stereotypes and achieve freedom so all people can be proudly Afro.

In her venture, Vargas uses the maxim “combing with philosophy” to promote a self-recognition process that allows Black people to engage...

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