Carlos Flores is in the process of obtaining a barber’s license. He has been practicing for three years now and specializes in all types of men’s haircuts. But recently there has been a style that young Latinos are requesting again and again.
“There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t do an ‘Edgar haircut,'” Flores, 19, an award-winning aspiring barber from Kyle, Texas, told NBC News. Flores now averages at least 7 “edgier haircuts” per day, most of them requested by a younger clientele ranging from 5th graders to high school seniors.
Partly due to TikTok and other social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, the hairstyle called the “Edgar cut” has gained widespread popularity. Just follow the memes – even SpongeBob and Chuckie are playing it.
As first reported by The Dallas Morning News, the hairstyle has struck a chord with Gen Z Latinos and late millennials.
One of Flores’ clients, Juan Morazán, 19, noticed the growing popularity of the hairstyle and opted to swap out his man bun—his hair was shoulder-length—for an edgier cut.
“I like it short. I don’t like it too big where it looks like I have a helmet on or like a balloon on my head,” said Morazán, who now refreshes her edgier cut every 6 days. does.
Often described as having a bowl-like cut with a line-up and tapered sides, the edgier is often associated with the modern ranchera/o aesthetic known as “takuche” and the “trociando” (from the word truck) trucking scene. Is. Where young men are embracing their Mexican roots by wearing cowboy hats and boots, driving pick-up trucks and dancing to traditional Mexican music such as corridos and rancheras.
The edgier hairstyle is prevalent in states near the US-Mexico border, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Yet its popularity extends to other young Latinos, not just Mexican Americans or those who live in the Southwest.
How did the haircut get its name? The popular origin story is that a young fan asked a barber, Anthony Reyes, to cut and shape a design of Major League Baseball player Edgar Martinez, a former Seattle Mariners hitter and third baseman, on the back of his head.
Reyes later shared a video of what appeared to be the now infamous Edgar haircut, and it went viral.
popular – and a punchline too
While Edgar is a favorite, videos, images and memes have turned the haircut and its associated culture into something of a punchline — including stereotyping those who get it.
Viral videos online often depict and mock young men with an “edgier” cut, grouping them all together because of shared characteristics such as their appearance, style of clothing, manner of walking, their speech and interests. Are.
Alexandro Gradilla, an associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at California State University, Fullerton, said it’s important to take a step back and look at how the haircut is perceived.
“Even though they don’t have labels, they are closer to the indigenous farmer identity that is dominant in Latin America. And they are also representative of the blue-collar farmer culture of immigrants here in America,” Gradilla said. “When you look at these young men, we also have to understand: their culture is one that has been through time and space with indigenous culture and indigenous peoples, particularly in Latin America.”
The hairstyle bears some resemblance to the hairstyle of Native Americans, including the Jumano tribe that was dominant in Texas between the 1500s and 1700s.
Gradilla states that Edgar’s criticism includes a form of classism or rasquachismo, derived from the word rasquache – often used to describe an attitude that is lower class, or poor or too cheap in taste.
“You don’t see what you would call white-passing Latinos with edgier haircuts. It’s always very dark-skinned Latinos who have edgier haircuts,” Gradilla said.
Criticism of Edgar included mocking the cut, referring to young men playing it as lower class or more sheltered or lacking respect for the Mexican American “cholo” or gangster style.
Yet despite all the memes and criticism of Edgar, its popularity continues to grow.
“First it was just Edgar, now it’s called Fluffy Edgar,” Flores said. He said a lot of fellow barbers struggle to get haircuts and some won’t do it, but suggested they learn because “it’s here to stay. There are so many people getting haircuts now, I don’t think it’s really Its going on.” away anytime soon.
“Some people even go above and beyond and get a design like the Freestyle design to express themselves even more,” Flores said. “When you walk around with an edgier haircut, you’re going to get more attention than if you had a simple bald fade. It might not be a great attention-grabber, but you’ll definitely get attention for it.”
