Three black beauties! Erika Januza, Taís Araújo and Raissa Santana get together and talk about natural hair and identity

Note from BW of Brazil: Here at BW of Brazil, we often discuss a number of hot and/or controversial topics. Topics in which it is always possible that you won’t see eye to eye with someone because you have a difference of opinions of a given topic. I often note this in the comments section both here as well as in the social networking sites. So sometimes I feel like, why not just post a few photos of some beautiful black Brazilian women and call it a day? After all, this is what this blog is about anyway! When I saw the first sample of this photo shoot a few weeks I already knew I had to share this black beauty times three with readers. All three of the women featured in the photos below have made a name for themselves in the public spotlight.

Actress Taís Araújo has been a favorite here, having popped in countless features on this blog. And for good reason: she is arguably the most successful Afro-Brazilian actress of all-time! In terms of visibility, she is far and away the most recognized black women in Brazil’s ultra-Eurocentric media. Raissa Santana made history back in 2016 when she became the first black woman in 30 years to earn the title of Miss Brasil! In 62 years, she was only the second Afro-Brazilian woman to wear the crown. Quite and accomplishment. Actress Erika Januza has been steadily building her resume over the past few years, first starring in the 2012 mini-series Suburbia. Although the series was panned by critics for pandering to numerous stereotypes about black Brazilians, the series acted as springboard for Januza as she would go to appear in a number of novelas (soap opera) and can be currently seen in Globo TV’s O Outro Lado do Paraíso. 

Now besides these three women being black, beautiful and in the public spotlight, they have at least one other thing in common: all three have made the transition into wearing their natural curly ‘fros! This movement among black Brazilian women is something that you have to see and know the history to understand why this is so important. For so many decades, black Brazilians have been made feel ashamed of their natural hair to the point that millions of people became slaves to the dictatorship of straight(end) hair. To be sure, millions of black women continue to straighten, but never in the modern era have so many brazenly chosen to love their they were born with! Taís, Erika and Raissa are simply three women in the public spotlight rockin’ their natural curly ‘fros, but they represent for the masses of black women who have put away the straightening irons and chemicals!

Erika Januza, Taís Araújo and Raissa Santana talk about natural hair and identity

By Silvia Nascimento

Celebrities with curly and kinky hair have talked a lot about how the transition has changed their lives. Taís Araújo, Erika Januza, Raissa Santana and Nathalie Barros chatted about beauty, empowerment and projects while recording a commercial for a beauty brand.

Such Araújo revealed her secret to the perfect curls: “I love mixtures. I often mix oil and leave in for a very natural effect on the strands.”

Erika Januza, who underwent a process of hair transition, said that today her hair is her identity and strength. “My hair is my identity. I see it as strength too, because to take on this hair and feel beautiful is to have strength. Not that this hair is not beautiful, but for those who went through a transition, through a phase of non-acceptance, this whole process is exhausting; feeling beautiful is also having strength because you won’t go out and worry about what others are thinking,” said the actress.

Miss 2016 Raissa Santana spoke of happiness in seeing the increase in the representation of curly-haired women in the beauty market: “I am very happy to see the brands looking at us differently, because wanting it or not, it is a very large public: Brazil has a more than 50% black population, so why not make products especially for these women?” She also spoke of the pride of the crown: “I was very happy and honored! That scene, that image of the passing of the crown from one black woman to another black woman was remarkable. When I won, it had been a long time that a black woman wasn’t Miss (Brasil) and now we have two in a row. It’s a great force!” For this year, one of Raissa’s projects is to launch a Youtube channel on beauty.

Digital influencer Nathalie Barros, who also participated in the campaign, revealed that the “movimento dos cachos” (curly movement) is actually the “movimento da Liberdade” (freedom movement), and that today it’s no longer necessary to straighten the strands out to feel represented. “I am very happy to see that children today don’t feel ugly with their curls, because they are represented in campaigns, on TV, in the past this was rare.”

Source: Mundo Negro