A young woman sits stock-still,
eyes shut, as a barber slides his
scissors across her brow, neatly
trimming her fringe. She is
surrounded by a glinting trove
of 19th-century artefacts. Antique
trimmers are scattered on shelves
among pewter-backed brushes,
rusty razors and steampunk-style
blowdryers. This is Papito’s, one
of Havana’s most famous salons,
which doubles as a unique
museum and gallery.
Papito himself – known formally
as Gilberto Valladares – wields
the scissors, pulled from a custom
leather holster at his belt. He peers
down at his client before carefully
trimming a hair here and there,
as though finishing a masterpiece.
‘Barbers are artists,’ he says. ‘To
cut hair is to make a sculpture,
with form, texture, colour – it’s
a means of expression.’
Papito’s inclination towards the
artistic is writ large on the walls,
where colourful paintings fill every
inch, all inspired by hairdressing
- from swimming stylist mermaids
to conquistadors duelling with
scissors instead of swords.
Yet it is the barber’s passion for
his community that’s driven the
fortunes of this formerly rundown
corner of Havana. The paved lane
outside is now known as the
Callejón de los Peluqueros
(Barbers’ Alley) – a street-long ode
to hairdressing, lined with themed
sculptures, murals, and barbers’
poles striped red, white and blue.
What started as a small business in
Papito’s living room in the 1990s
has become a broad-ranging social
project. There’s a free hairdressing
school for disadvantaged local
kids, a funky café and restaurant,
small artisan shops and weekly
mini-fiestas featuring ‘son cubano’- a mix of Latin and African dance.
‘I am a barber, but I am also a
dreamer,’ Papito says. ‘The most
important inheritance in Cuba is
our people and our culture. So we
must focus on it to bring prosperity.
Six years ago this was one of the
ugliest streets in Havana. Now look.’
He gestures at the street, alive
with young barber apprentices
and coffee-drinking visitors, while
kids stream down to the local
playground to clamber over slides
shaped like razors and see-saws
like scissors that open and close
as the children play.
O To book a haircut at Papito’s, email him
at [email protected] or call
00 53 7 8015102.