Interwoven The city where hair is an act of resistance

In a country beset by gang warfare, the Ecuadorian city of Otavalo stands as a haven of safety, where the Kichwa community thrives with its rich cultural heritage, vibrant traditions, distinctive clothing and long hair.

- Irina Werning

Since 2006, I have been seeking out and photographing women with long hair across South America. In Otavalo, I found that men also embrace the tradition of wearing their hair long.

Braids, in particular within Indigenous communities, symbolise an act of resistance, traced back to the trauma of forced hair cutting during the Spanish conquests.