Community action is gaining more space every day as an interest of the private sector in Cuba, including the strength that the Local Development Project has taken as one of the forms of non-state management.
However, this is not a view that is born today. Some projects have been aiming to do good for their communities and the population in general for many years, beyond generating income.
That is the case of ArteCorte, founded in 1999 by barber Gilberto Valladares “Papito”, and which has turned a small street in Old Havana into a cultural, gastronomic space and a reference for styling in Cuba. A large pair of scissors indicates the entrance to the section of Aguiar Street, which is no longer known by that name, but rather as Callejón de los Peluqueros.
This December 27, the project resumed one of its most notable actions, the celebration of Barber and Hairdresser’s Day in Cuba, which became a massive moment of participation by the public and beauty professionals in the country.
To do this, the project moved to the Plaza Vieja in the historic center and had as its fundamental moment the “Simultaneous Cut”, which makes it possible for the public to have free access to performing a haircut, which can range from retouching your usual haircut to a complete change of style.
“A live show where barbers, hairdressers and stylists gave their talent to the public, cutting at the same time, with love, technique and a vocation for service. This collective gesture demonstrates that hairdressing and barbering are not just a trade, but art, community and dedication,” defines a post in Facebook of the project.
Andrés Talabera, professor at the Bella Caribe National Beauty School, believes that taking the project to the streets every year is one of the best things that ArteCorte has, and he participates accompanied by many of his barbering course students because he affirms that this moment gives them “a thought to offer community service.”
Libia, member and teacher of ArteCorte, participated this year for the third time in the simultaneous cut and highlights that the possibility of interacting with many colleagues is another of the important advantages of celebrating the date in this way.
This has already become a moment expected by many, to receive a service that this time becomes a family experience of enjoyment, seasoned with maximum attention, shared experience, detailed explanation that denotes the greatest professionalism and Cuban music in the background, remembering that it is a house party.
Gabriela says that she arrived with her mother at the Plaza Vieja and with her hair “a little bad,” but she came out of this experience “fixed” after spontaneously trying her luck with one of the professionals who offered their services and whom she did not know until that moment.
Dignifying and promoting the profession of barbering and hairdressing were the reasons with which “Papito” created ArteCorte and the reasons that maintain the project to this day, even when its creator resides outside of Cuba and other hands direct it.
Barber and Hairdresser’s Day has been established on the island since 1947 in honor of the birth of Juan Evangelista Valdés Veitía, barber, poet and historian from Villa Clara, and ArteCorte also celebrates it to recognize the work of professionals in the sector and show their talents.
For this reason, beyond the simultaneous cut, the action on December 27 in the Plaza Vieja included the presentation of the Juan Gómez Award to the stylist Pedro Lázaro Díaz Hernández, with more than 40 years of work in professional hairdressing, with a marked mark in cinema, theater and cabaret.
The winner himself was part of the styling show, the most artistic segment of the celebration, where his talent and that of other prominent professionals such as Carlos Quiala and Pedro King Barber brought to the stage their creations in various inspirations from Cuban culture such as the novel Cecilia Valdés by Cirilo Villaverde or the orishas of the Yoruba pantheon.
