Cuscú

How old were you when you first straightened your hair? Starting with this simple but intimate question, Panama-born filmmaker Risseth Yangüez Singh speaks with women in her family and community. Most of all, she talks with her grandmother while helping her move. As they clear out drawers and cupboards, photo albums, notebooks, and letters emerge, stirring up all kinds of memories.

These reminiscences lead to reflections on a broader shared history, from the construction of the Panama Canal to the enslaved resistance leader Bayano, who led a major uprising in the 16th century. Yet the film repeatedly finds its way back to the personal. Often light and playful, it moves between the specific and the universal, between home videos and archival footage. Throughout, Afro-textured hair—cuscú is a derogatory term for tightly curled hair—becomes a symbol of the many ways Black identity has been suppressed.