LP 1

I walked into The Purple Palace salon/barbershop on Tuesday afternoon with a knot in my throat. I had just spent five minutes in the car talking my nerves down and making sure my heart wasn't beating so loud that someone might hear it. I had no clue what to expect when I walked in there. What would they say? What would they think of a white girl walking into their shop? Would they laugh and me and throw me out? Well, that was the worst case scenario, and I had prepared for it. Just the colors of the building alone made me nervous. Bright yellow and purple, you could see it from a mile away.

I finally mustered up the courage to turn off the car and walk to the front door. Once my eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lights inside, I was able to see the four men there had stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I walked up nervously, holding my notepad, not failing to notice the pool table with the purple velvet lining and the crystal chandelier hanging above it, directly to my left. I introduced myself and told them I was from FIU. I asked if the place got busier toward the end of the week, to which a young man, sitting on a black leather sofa responded, "Yea, but if you want to talk to us now, come sit over here!"

His name is Brandon. He's 22, and looks like he can tackle anyone on the football field. He's average height, but widely built like a sturdy house. He mentioned that they had just been talking about FIU's football team.

Ives, the "dad" of the shop told me the two main topics of conversation there were politics and football. He's heavier set, dressed in black and wears glasses and a mustache. He reminded me of a younger and skinnier version of Cedric the Entertainer

I sat down and took it all in. The yellow walls, the black tile, the huge television on the other end of the room. It was bright and loud, but there was something really calm and inviting about it all.

A man getting his hair cut by Ives asked me what kind of journalism I was studying. Ives asked me "Do you recognize this man? Have you seen him ESPN maybe?" I said no.

It turns out his name is Israel Gutierrez. He works for the sports section of the Miami Herald and has covered teams like The Heat and the Florida Marlins.

I instantly felt more comfortable. Who would've thought a reporter for the Miami Herald would come to the Purple Palace? He told me he is a regular, that he comes every 9 to 10 days.

The conversation quickly turned to football, and that happened a lot while i was there.

One of the first questions I asked was how they had gotten started cutting hair. Ives responded by telling me they had all started cutting hair on the porch or in the garage. "Just trying to make a few dollars to pay for things, and just happened to make a career out of it. I don't mind being around people or getting up and going to work."

"We all started at home, we all grew up around here", said Greg, one of the other barbers. He's handsome, tall, and muscular, with a diamond in each ear. To me, he looked like a lady's man, but i instantly noticed his wedding ring.

He and Brandon seemed to be the most curious. They asked me where I was from and what my background was. They were surprised to find out my parents are Latin. Greg said, "I thought you were a white girl." I had to laugh.


A young woman walked in the door with a small boy who turned out to be her nephew. Larissa told me she goes to school at BCC and is studying psychology.We talked about her aspirations and her family life. She told me her mom, Kathy Taylor, works at FIU.


The topic of conversation among all of us was directed by the T.V. It went from Michael Jackson to football to the stabbing at Coral Gables Senior High.

A man sitting in Greg's chair named Jay contributed to the conversation by talking about today's youth. He wondered what will happen with future generations. About the stabbing he said, "I grew up around the same thing, but i didn't get involved with it."

We talked about rudeness. Kanye West, Serena Williams, and Congressman Wilson came up in the conversation. I got the feeling they don't trust politicians. Ives commented on how politicians are "crooks" and Greg added they are "thieves", ans some even "murderers". I plan to expand on that next time I visit.

I found out Greg has a wife and two boys. Brandon made sure to point out that the two boys were from the same woman, and explained to me that that was very rare. He told me how sad it made him, because most boys who grow up without a father, overcompensate by turning into tough, aggressive teenagers.

As the afternoon progressed, more customers came in. The majority were men. I noticed that many brought their young boys with them. They would sit down for a cut and then be set free to go play an NFL arcade game that was right behind me.

I found out more about Brandon after he came to sit next to me again. We got along extremely well, and we talked about his family life and his plans for the future. He told me he plans to attend BCC and get into the medical field, after he's done with barber school. His dream was to be a professional football player, but an ACL tear shattered those plans.

Brandon is half black and half Jamaican. His dad's dad was Cuban and moved to Jamaica where he met Brandon's grandmother. He has three brothers, two older, one younger. His mom works as a Registered Nurse and she is going back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner.
About his own education Brandon told me, "When I go back to school , it will be for the gusto. I have the passion now."

I asked him if Ives was the father figure in the shop and he said yes. about Greg he said, "He's like my brother. They put us in time out around here." He told me that Ives has known him since he was a little boy.

On my next visit I hope to delve deeper into their lives and really find out what they think about politics and about what's going on on their community.