Afro-descendants in Cuba, breaking with the colonial vision

Maydi Estrada Bayona, A professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and History of the University of Havana in Cuba, referred in dialogue with CLACSO TV to the different elements of "the processes of discrimination and the processes of symbolic violence, mental, spiritual violence, of black people, not only in Cuba but at an international level."

She further explained that “the standard of beauty is Eurocentric. In other words, the African standard is not considered beautiful, because we have always been seen as objects within the production process and in the initial construction of society.” This situation, Maydi maintains, is strongly manifested in hairstyles, in treating Afro hair with harmful chemicals to make it look “prettier,” “a legacy we have inherited as a culture from a colonial perspective.”

Interviewed by Gustavo Lema

Maydi Estrada Bayona was interviewed in October 2019, on the occasion of CLACSO's presence in Havana to close the commemorations for the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.