Latin America's Afro capital looks to rewrite its own past

"Valdemira Telma has put down roots on a corner in Pelourinho, perhaps the busiest neighborhood in the Blackest city outside of Africa. From the heart of Salvador de Bahia, she shouts hoarsely while leaning out of a window, Seja bem vinda, meu amor! (Welcome, my love!) This is her hair salon, but it is no average beauty parlor. Valdemira appears, dressed in a light yellow dress with brown African designs that covers her from chest to ankles."

"Around her neck hang a pair of long necklaces made of colored beads, symbolizing the orixas, the Yoruba deities who protect her. A huge ring adorns each of her middle fingers, which she uses to braid the hair of her female clientele. Valdemira Telma, better known as La Negra Jho, is the queen of one of Brazil's most traditional communities."

"She is now over 60 years old, but since she was a child, Telma knew that she would suffer. This was confirmed when her mother died when she was just five years old. Back then, she was known as Jhon, typically a man's name, in their quilombo, a Brazilian community founded by formerly enslaved people and their descendants. Her aunts assumed responsibility for the little girl they called narizona (big nose), bocona (big mouth), who they said looked like a little boy, a man, a monkey, because her hair never grew."

Valdemira Telma operates a distinctive salon on a corner in Pelourinho, greeting clients from a window and wearing clothing and beads that reflect African heritage. She uses large rings to braid hair and bears symbols of the orixas, the Yoruba deities who protect her. Known as La Negra Jho, she leads a traditional community and holds religious authority. She endured early trauma after her mother's death at age five and grew up in a quilombo where relatives mocked her appearance and slow-growing hair. Her pain and resilience shaped her identity and celebration of African beauty.

Read at english.elpais.com