Ernestine Comvalius, the woman behind the Black Magic Women Festival that starts on November 11 in Amsterdam South East.
Who is Mrs. Ernestine Comvalius, what does she do and what motivates her?
I am a mother of two daughters and have lived in the Netherlands since I was 9. I spent my puberty in America in the 70s, the period in which the slogan 'I am black and I am beautiful' was common. The time also in which Angela Davis was arrested and everyone who walked around with big Afros. That period shaped me, because although I led a very good life in a suburb of New York with my aunt who worked there as a gynecologist, I was very concerned about the fate of black Americans, Latinos and others who occupied a subordinate position.
In 1972 I returned and started studying at the university in Utrecht, where I became very active in the Surinamese student movement.
How did you come up with the idea of organizing a festival for black women? Where did the name come from?
Since 1998 I have been working as a director at Krater Theater in Amsterdam Zuidoost. A few years before that, one of the employees was already inspired by the song of Santana: Like a black magic woman….. At that time, Krater tried to connect more with what was going on with the residents in Zuidoost in order to entice more visitors to come to the theater performances.
What is the goal of the Black Magic Woman festival, what have you learned in the past nine years and do you think the organization is closer to its goal or has already achieved its goal?
The BMW festival was created in a period in which we hardly saw black female actresses, singers, artists on Dutch stages. That time has changed and we have also contributed to that. The BMW festival programs professional arrivals alongside talented newcomers. We show how new groups influence and enrich cultural life in the Netherlands. In addition, the festival appears to have such a great appeal because it is a manifestation of quality, female power and optimism. The magic lies in the inspiring effect it has on the visitors and on us.
Yes, I think we are increasingly achieving the desired goal. No one can dismiss the festival as a small get-together in the Bijlmer that opposes Dutch society and so on. We have heard these kinds of comments. On the contrary, there is a lot of national attention in the media, we are approached by renowned groups, actresses, singers who want to perform. In addition, the themes and debates also contribute to breaking through the negative image of us. In addition to music, theatre, dance, film, multimedia, visual arts, literature and other disciplines, the festival also organises poetry workshops and visual arts. An artist has created the decor with residents of Zuidoost every year. Visual traditions from Africa, the interior of Suriname and elsewhere have always been the source of inspiration. In this way, we involve the local area in the festival. Although we are expanding to the Stadsschouwburg in Utrecht and to various districts in Amsterdam this year, we want the festival to never lose its Zuidoost character.
Could you elaborate on this year’s theme? Why did you choose “Revelations”?
Over the past three years, we have been working with themes that connect all the programme components. Love and eroticism, Heroines and now Revelations. We choose such a theme in consultation with all partners and wonderful discussions and creative thought processes precede this. We organise this festival with a great deal of love. You can associate all sorts of things with revelations: revelations, confessions, discoveries, unveilings, making visible, highlighting the underexposed, searching for the unknown. It gives us sufficient freedom in the programming and also has something exciting in it. We then go in search of, for example, underexposed women from history, pioneers in a certain field or women who reveal a special talent for the first time. All 8 festival locations will give visitors the opportunity to reveal something in a playful way. We will have mystery guests who will be revealed on the spot. Hopefully your curiosity has now been piqued.
Do you think curly hair fits into this theme? If not, why not? If so, why?
I think that frizzy hair fits into this theme. Haven't we been struggling with our hair for years and years? Aren't ways and means being discovered time and again to make hair manageable, beautiful and modern? How many examples do we see? How many magazines are there that give us ideas? I think that dealing with frizzy hair is almost an art form. When we were creating the decor for the BMW festival, we were once inspired by the patterns of braided frizzy hair.
Lately I realize more and more that slavery is not that far behind us. My grandfather's mother was born in slavery, he belongs to the first generation that was born in freedom; relative freedom because it was the colonial era. The negative ideas about black people and therefore also about frizzy hair were instilled in me from an early age. I got those ideas in my environment as a child, so that means that the appreciation for frizzy hair has an even greater importance than just introducing a new fashion. It indirectly contributes to increasing self-esteem.
Have you ever relaxed your hair yourself? If not, why not? If so, when and why did you stop?
Yes, I have relaxed sometimes, but never for a long time. I did it for the variation, but all that curling iron stuff is not really for me and my head has suffered from the chemicals. I had curly for quite a few years, because I actually wanted to be as natural as possible, but also modern. Afro was out and braiding it took me so much time, I had no patience for that.
How do you like the kinky twists and why did you choose this hairstyle?
After a period of wetting my own hair and letting it dry, leaving a spiral shape that I would beat into a certain shape, I switched to kinky twists. My hair became dry from wetting it every day. I have a lot of thick hair and I'm not the most handy, I have to admit.
The twists are done within 3 hours, which I think is reasonable. I have a mousse that I use daily and I put oil on my scalp once a week. I like the twists because I don't have to do anything and my hair always looks cared for. However, I would prefer an easy hairstyle with my own hair, without false extensions.
What do you think about frizzy hair?
I find frizzy hair laborious and would like, like in Suriname, to have handy family members nearby who can take care of my hair for me. I find it quite difficult to find good hairdressers. I do not have enough knowledge of the right products and the best way to handle my own hair. I would like to see magazines around me that are informative and give people ideas. In short, I still have a lot to learn about my own hair.
What do you expect from the Black Magic Woman festival this year?
I expect that the loyal visitors will be there again to recharge their minds and I hope that many people from other cities will come to the festival.
I know the program will be attractive with a lot of attention to content. On the website we will reveal more about the program step by step. www.blackmagicwomanfestival.nl.
Finally, do you have a message for the visitors of kroeshaar.com or black women in general?
I have a very positive view of black women. In my work I see the top talents, the ambitious young women, who are at the same time socially involved and ready to help other women a step further. I think it's great that there is a kroeshaar.com and will visit it regularly from now on.