Pablo Muñoz, Laura Romero and Edna Liliana Valencia in conversation with Lidy Agámez

Can I touch your hair?

Cartagena 2026, Thursday 29 January 2026

A question that may seem to be an innocent one conceals a history of exoticisation and resistance. For many people of African heritage, hair is much more than a part of the body, it is identity, memory and pride. The long essay ¿Te puedo tocar el pelo? De la negación al exotismo: Experiencias en torno al pelo afro explores the relationship between hair, self-esteem and history, looking at the historical value of hair in African and Afro-descendent societies. Pablo Muñoz, Laura Romero and Edna Liliana Valencia will talk to Lidy Agámez, the Head of the Social Work course at the University of Cartagena. Because hair is also an anti-colonial political struggle.