Feature: A barber's dream gives new lease of life to Havana neighborhood

by Raul Menchaca

HAVANA, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- It's hard to believe that the busy "Callejon de los Peluqueros" (Hairdressers' Alley), a narrow alley in the oldest part of Havana, is the result of efforts by barber Gilberto Valladares, the director of the ArteCorte (Artcut) communitarian project.

Valladares, 48, whom everyone calls "Papito," began working as a barber at 16. After a long tour through several state-run barbershops, he decided to set up his own business at his house on Aguiar Street, in the Old Havana neighborhood, in 1999.

"My dream was founding a place to dignify our profession and, over time, it became a living museum of barbershops and the hairdressing salon," the community leader told Xinhua.

Papito continues to work in his barber shop, in the living room of his house, which has been converted into a "living museum," with old cash registers and barber's chairs, one of them from the 19th century.

The cramped walls are covered by two collections of paintings, one donated by several Cuban painters and entitled "Till the last strand of hair," and another one as Papito's own artistic interest, which he named "A barber's dream."

That initial barber shop coupled with the ongoing reforms on the island turned into the "ArteCorte" project that currently gathers about 20 small businesses in the alley, giving jobs to 100 people.

Sponsored by the Havana history office, Papito began to invest part of his profits in the modification of the block, where the first thing he did was to open a barber and hairdressing school in a restored building.

Later he opened a bartendering school to help unemployed or directionless young people learn a craft. One of these was Joan Manuel Silva, who found a roadmap for his life there after being jailed twice.

"The ArteCorte project changed my life. Before entering in this project, I was divorced from society and it helped me to rejoin society," says Silva, now a recognized bartender.

The interest to return the old buildings to their former splendor and to contribute to the development of the neighborhood began to attract friends and acquaintances. This led to more small businesses, such as craft shops, restaurants and a small art gallery.

"I feel my work is 'productive' because my space allows people living in the community to get closer to art, and I have also contributed as a teacher for local children and young people," says painter Luis Puerta.

ArteCorte promoted the construction of a children's playground, where the amusements are designed to resemble different barbershop implements, and where the children's hair is cut by Asiel Aleman, one of the young graduates of the barber school, whose life also changed when he joined the project.

"It gave me the opportunity to get ahead and show ... that with your hands you can help make the world a better place," says Aleman.

The social, cultural and economic resuscitation has allowed the alley to become a tourist attraction, included in the urban routes offered by several travel agencies.

With daily practice, Papito has shown that the economic profits must bring social benefits, as indicated by the theory of "solidarity economy."

"We always associate the economy with numbers, money, and currencies, but at ArteCorte we also find human capital in the social economy as another way to grow our social commitment," he explains.

He defends the idea that economic growth should go hand-in-hand with the social and cultural growth of the community to improve people's lives because, he says, "everything can not be about making money."

Therefore, the project sponsors and organizes workshops for children and young people on painting, archaeology, dance and even a small indoor soccer tournament, besides of supporting "New Life" nursing home, which welcomes around 50 elders every day.

The reality is that the old, dirty and half abandoned alley has taken on a new image by becoming the Barbers Alley, as Alba Rosa Villafuerte says, who lives in one of the old buildings and works at the "Figaro" restaurant.

"People go by and comment on how nice the area looks, how much it has changed," she says without hiding her pride. Enditem