Irina Werning – Big Hair in Argentina

Making the rounds of the blogosphere the past couple of weeks has been Argentine photogpher Irina Wering’s project Back to the Future. Browsing her site, however, I was much more struck by her project Mi Pelo Largo Querido. Let’s just say that young women in Argentina have a LOT of hair.

© Irina Werning

© Irina Werning

One of the big hair images that really stopped me in my tracks was this one, from an entirely different series, Little Schools in the Andes:

© Irina Werning

This series reminded me of a hilarious advertisement for a Brazilian beer put out last year during the World Cup. The spot was for the Brazilian market but they hired Argentine actors who are speaking Spanish in the clip. One sip of the beer and they enter into a frenzied identity crisis that has them dancing Samba, cutting off their Argentine mullets and extolling Brazilian soccer. Here it is:

I’ve shown this to foreigners who’ve lived in Argentina and they think it’s the funniest thing ever. I’ve shown it to various Argentines who have told me that it’s Not. Funny. At. All.