Did you know that over 50% of the residents of Mexico City have curly hair?!

Yep, over half of the population has some sort of textured hair due to their Indigenous, Latin American, & Native American backgrounds. Even famous Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo painted a self-portrait of herself with a tiny curly fro, as a symbolic reference to her taking back her power during one of her bouts with Diego!

Recently, NC Social Media Manager Leslie and I took a trip to Mexico City, as a cultural immersion experience to learn about pelo chino and curl acceptance in the city. With the help of curl expert Rebeca Serur, Co-Founder of Urban Curls Salon (the first hair salon dedicated to curly hair in Mexico City”> as our guide, we were really excited and anxious to see the different textures, styles, and curly community in another country. Everyone we photographed was even more thrilled to have their rizos recognized and jumped at the opportunity to showcase their hair and personal style!

Peep our roundup below of waves, curls, and coils in Mexico City, showing just a small taste of the diverse community in Latinx culture!

Curls on Orange Background

Multiple Curls

TWA

Curl Couple

This curly couple was serious #hairgoals.

Elder Lady

Calavera

Curls & Calaveras! Talk about getting into the holiday spirit.

Tight Coils

Red Waves

Curl Tourist Leslie

NC Social Media Manager Leslie rocking her freshly trimmed waves. <3

Las Coronas

Owner of Urban Curls Salon, Rebeca is showing off her curls while wearing a Las Ofrendas crown!

Afro Textured Hair

Curls Little Girl

Curls next to flowers

Curly Tourist

NC Content Editor Lauren showing off her coily curls in CDMX!

Curl Couple

Curls Yellow Background

On a personal note, this trip forced me to take a look at my own cultural biases stemmed in unrealistic ideas from the media, in how Mexico is portrayed in the United States. I learned of new products and ingredients to put in my own hair, and not to mention the overwhelming amount of hospitality I received was unmatched by anywhere else I have gone! My rizos paquito were a showstopper, but not only that I felt a genuine connection with the curlies in Mexico City, and likewise did Leslie.

Thank you Mexico for showing us your unique style and celebrating your natural textures. We had a blast, and are looking forward to spending more time in your beautiful country.

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All photos by @x_lazcano

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