Morenas And The Fake Hair

[JimD]

I was dating a Black girl recently. She’s from Timbiquí, a pueblo about an hour inland from the Pacific coast on the Rio Timbiquí in Cauca department. She showed me some you tube clips. It’s all Black except for a few Indians, reminded me of Quibdó. But I digress. I went by her pieza the other day and she was installing her “hair”. It wasn’t hers of course, it was someone else´s.  She spent a couple of hours “sewing” in  fake hair. I really found it a turn off. I asked her what about just her natural hair in some attractive style. She said no, that all the girls in Timbiquí sew fake hair into their natural hair. She said all the morenas in the cities do it too.  I guess I’ve dated a lot of girls of mixed race before but not many who are pure “Africana”.  I never picked up on this postizo hair thing before.  I ran into Vanessa Mendoza (Miss Colombia 2002) in Capurganá a few years ago.  Her hair looked pretty natural except for maybe being ironed. (Photo) I wish the girl I was dating had hair like Vanessa´s.
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Anyway as I said for me the fake hair is a big turn off. You guys with morena wives or girl friends what’s your reaction? Does it bother you or no?
 

[Brazilophile]

I was dating a Black girl recently.  She spent a couple of hours “sewing” in  fake hair. I really found it a turn off. I asked her what about just her natural hair in some attractive style. She said no, that all the girls in Timbiquí sew fake hair into their natural hair. She said all the morenas in the cities do it too.  I guess I’ve dated a lot of girls of mixed race before but not many who are pure “Africana”.  I never picked up on this postizo hair thing before. 
.
Anyway as I said for me the fake hair is a big turn off. You guys with morena wives or girl friends what’s your reaction? Does it bother you or no?

Have you seen Chris Rock's movie 'Good Hair'?  It seems relevant to Colombia as well as the US!

Fake hair is a big turn off for me too.  But the ladies aren't doing it for us!!!!
 

[braziliangirl]

Have you seen Chris Rock's movie 'Good Hair'? 

I thought the exact same thing. Weaves are not popular in Brazil, but most of girls with curly hair strengthen it. Which is such a shame because curly and wavy hair are so beautiful.

[beginthebeguin]

Yes b_z, I quite agree with you.
 
I prefer that my novia keeps her natural curl in her hair but it seems that she has it in her head to go with the straight hair this season. I love her hair straight and I told her so, but I dropped the hint that I liked her natural curl as just as well. With her hair set naturally I think she looks prettier. But Hey, that is my bias talking. I wonder should I tell her that I prefer the natural look? Or let this 'straight hair' fad just take it's course. 
jajajaja I must be really bored, I'm talking about hair. 

[braziliangirl]

Yes b_z, I quite agree with you.
 
I prefer that my novia keeps her natural curl in her hair but it seems that she has it in her head to go with the straight hair this season. I love her hair straight and I told her so, but I dropped the hint that I liked her natural curl as just as well. With her hair set naturally I think she looks prettier. But Hey, that is my bias talking. I wonder should I tell her that I prefer the natural look? Or let this 'straight hair' fad just take it's course. 
jajajaja I must be really bored, I'm talking about hair. 

hahaha So let's talk a bit more. One thing you guys should understand is that curly hair required much more work than straight hair. So, many girls opt to just go to the salon and strengthen because they don't have enough time to keep it natural and beautiful. At least that's what I hear. Because right now I'm ready to sleep with my hair rolled on socks with hopes that I wake up with at least a wavy hair tomorrow. 

[InnocentVixen]

In mexico we have plenty of morenas but don't have that many mulatas, the ones that we have usually don't have hair like black girls do so hair extensions are mainly used by girls who don't have that much hair and are trying to have a fuller look, this girls usually are not able to grow their hair long either and most have very thin hair. They are almost a requirement for ladies that work in strip clubs for some reason.

BG curly hair can be actually easier to take care of depending on the type of curl you have, in my case I just get out of the shower and apply some product and I am ready to go, but I happen to like my mix of waves and curls. It's always easier to work with what you already have, when I go to the salon and have it straightened I always have to check the weather and if it gets too breezy it turns into a mess pretty fast... so if you have natural straight hair, lucky you! one thing we non-straight-hair girls can't do is run our fingers through our hair without a worry in the world when our hair is not wet, you end up with frizzy hair if you do!

[michaelb]

IV, I think you are making a mistake on a difference between Colombian Spanish and Mexican Spanish (one that I learned by making the same error myself, in fact, and was sternly corrected by the lady in question). What you call 'mulata' in Mexico is called 'morena' in Colombia.....what you call 'morena' in Mexico is called 'trigueña' in Colombia.

Since we're talking about hair, though, something that I always thought was strange, why do Mexicans say 'pelo chino'? Chinese people are not noted for having curly hair, in fact quite the opposite. 

[JimD]

In Colombia "morena" refers to a person of Black African decent.

[fathertime]

In Colombia "morena" refers to a person of Black African decent.

Can you provide a reference or two on that one.  That is not how my wife and I understand/use the term.


Thanks,


Fathertime! 

[JimD]

 That is not how my wife and I understand/use the term.

 

No? How do you and your wife understand/use the term?

[whitey]

I thought morena was more a mix of African and Spanish, and negra is African only ..?

[JimD]

I´ve found "morena" and "negra" are used interchangeably in Cali. Of course there are no "pure" africanas or "pure" españoles left in Colombia but there still are pure blood Indians in some regions.

[whitey]

Maybe it's different, depending on the region.  My wife is morena as you can see from the photo ... she most definitely doesn't like being called negra or even negrita in fun ...

One of my Colombian buddies here in my hometown who is from Barranquilla also calls his wife negrita sometimes, but just to bug her ... she's morena, but a little lighter skinned than Nazly.

[JimD]

The girl in the photo looks "india" she doesn´t look black. I can usually tell by the hair. I look more closely now.

[fathertime]

In my experience, I think Whitey's description is more correct for the Barranquilla area.  What JimD says is probably more correct for Cali.


Fathertime! 

[JimD]

Could be. Here´s my observation, Completely natural streight black hair together with the brown skin and black eyes is pretty much Indian. Change the natural hair to "crespa" and there is afrcana influence in the family guaranteed. A lot of girls with cabello crespo iron it though and they look "india".

[opusone]

Maybe it's different, depending on the region.  My wife is morena as you can see from the photo ... she most definitely doesn't like being called negra or even negrita in fun ...

One of my Colombian buddies here in my hometown who is from Barranquilla also calls his wife negrita sometimes, but just to bug her ... she's morena, but a little lighter skinned than Nazly.

The fact that your wife or any other Latina does not like being called negra or negrita even when it is in fun, shouldn't surprise anyone who has extensive latin roots from both races. The question of hair and its texture is more deeply rooted in how you are perceived in the pecking order. Since being "negra" would classify her as being at the "bottom of the totem pole", less educated, poor, and descendants of slaves, why would anyone want to be associated with such a  "nasty" word ?  . The word "negro" is actually a descendant of the latin word"niger" which upon closer study is applied not only to color, but a group of people and their controlled status.  "Morena"/triquena/india/canela has been used conversely in order to soften up the term "negra"which was wildly used to describe anyone who didn't have pure blood from Spain or Portugal during colonization..If you are classified as Rubia, you world is at its optimum peak . They are in fact still of African/Indian descent but can't bare the thought of being called "black" (negra). Frizzy or curly hair doesn't necessarily equate to what ones race may be, however, just as in women of color from the U.S.A, altering the natural "look" has proven to be  more acceptable by those who set social , economic ,and political standards. Several years ago it shocked me to see Thai women buying skin whitening products with unacceptable levels of hydroquinone (9% or more) in order to gain acceptance. Cracks me up when I hear women of color state that they have "bad" hair.

[whitey]

And yet her dad is called "el negro" by friends, neighbours, family, and even his wife ... no one means or takes offense by it ...

But I take your point ... my wife doesn't like it when her skin gets darker on the beach (that's when I tease her a bit), and although she hasn't said anything to me, I'm sure she wishes her hair wasn't as kinky.  Of the 3 sisters, she's the only one with the kinky hair.

[InnocentVixen]

Haha I apologize for using mexican spanish, but please take in mind I do not have any use for colombian spanish and I happen to be mexican!


In Mexico Trigueña is a specific color within the morena range, olive skin I believe. Any woman that is able to achieve a decent tan naturally is a morena, mulata term is sometimes "softened" to morena but mulatas in Mexico means someone with some black in their mix, someone that has some of the facial features and body shape just with a more caramel colored skin. I am "morena clara" but a mexican that is a bit on the racist side will insist I am "blanca" in a futil attempt to compliment me and lighten up the uses of skin color in general, So it's also about perspective.


@michaelb: I have wondered that myself for a long time (by the way the word should be rizado for curly hair). I believe it might be because of a common saying we used to use "esta en chino" (translate to "it's in chinese" meaning it is very complicated, hard to understand) and since curly hair tends to twist and turn, be all mixed up and easily tangled... "esta chino" in a figurative way.

[michaelb]

We have a similar saying in English: "It's all Greek to me", meaning hard to understand, but we don't use it for hair. At  least I've never heard anybody say "She has Greek hair". Another Mexican reference to Chinese, which I'm sure you are familiar with, but others might not be, is "La China Poblana". Did you do anything special for Independence Day? Back in 1976 (ahem, showing my age) I was standing in the Zocolo along with about a million other people watching the president ring the bell. Believe it or not, I still have the handmade straw hat I bought that night.

[fathertime]

 Cracks me up when I hear women of color state that they have "bad" hair.

Yeah me too,  I feel that when a woman has nice thick long hair she is way ahead of the game.  I like a natural curl or straight, whichever.   Much of my hair is gone now, so it nice to have somebody with good hair around here!


Fathertime! 

[opusone]

Yeah me too,  I feel that when a woman has nice thick long hair she is way ahead of the game.  I like a natural curl or straight, whichever.   Much of my hair is gone now, so it nice to have somebody with good hair around here!


Fathertime!

I think long hair has always been the attraction for most men. Latinas, or women of color all across the globe understand that most men don't really see short hair as enticing . Being the visual characters that we are, there is only so much you can imagine doing with short hair. Conversely , long hair seems to provoke serious mind boggling fantasies. I would take fake long hair ,over short hair any day ,providing when I pull it , it doesn't come out. [size=0px] [/size]


I also noticed that a lot of females that I know, immediately cut their hair after a bad break up. When I inquired as to why they would do such a thing, I always here the " I needed a  change" or "I want to try different things" response. Phoenix rising I guess?

[whitey]

I think long hair has always been the attraction for most men. Latinas, or women of color all across the globe understand that most men don't really see short hair as enticing . Being the visual characters that we are, there is only so much you can imagine doing with short hair. Conversely , long hair seems to provoke serious mind boggling fantasies. I would take fake long hair ,over short hair any day ,providing when I pull it , it doesn't come out. [size=0px] [/size]


I also noticed that a lot of females that I know, immediately cut their hair after a bad break up. When I inquired as to why they would do such a thing, I always here the " I needed a  change" or "I want to try different things" response. Phoenix rising I guess?

What I notice is the "mom haircut" most North American women seem to get after they give birth.  They cut their hair off, gain 30lbs, and basically don't care what they look like anymore.

I love watching the Colombian moms walking around the malls with a stroller, heels, a nice dress, and the hair/make-up done.  What a contrast to the fat and tattoo'd, sweatpant wearing crowd up here ...

[michaelb]

I also noticed that a lot of females that I know, immediately cut their hair after a bad break up. When I inquired as to why they would do such a thing, I always here the " I needed a  change" or "I want to try different things" response. Phoenix rising I guess?

They do it to punish their former lover/unfaithful husband.

Re: Frida Kahlo cut off her hair to punish Diego Rivera when she caught him in an affair with her sister. She had tolerated his many infidelities with other women, but doing her sister was over the line!

[fathertime]

What I notice is the "mom haircut" most North American women seem to get after they give birth.  They cut their hair off, gain 30lbs, and basically don't care what they look like anymore.

I find tattoos especially odious on a woman, something about them seems so phony in most cases.  The extent of tattooing here in SoCAL is off the charts..   Everybody has a stupid butterfly on their body somewhere.  .I didn't know it had spread up to Canada too.


Fathertime!