On the corner of Third Street and Bush Street there is a small 215-square-foot building, with murals on three walls and a door where everyone who enters leaves transformed, whether with a good hairstyle or a custom cut.
Inside the property, the windows have faded posters of haircut examples and there are five workstations where stylists work their magic.
The hair salon is called La Casa Blanca, and its owner is Jorge Fuentes, a stylist who has been cutting hair for residents of Santa Ana and beyond, within Orange County, for 20 years.
For Jorge, clients are the most important thing, but due to the small size of the premises, they have to wait outside, sitting, although that does not affect him since, due to the popularity of his work, his clients do not mind waiting.
Although the peace of mind that his quality of work has given him was not always like this, at the beginning and because of his nerves, Jorge preferred that clients not arrive.
Its beginnings in Honduras
Before coming to the United States, Jorge lived in Honduras with his family.
He remembers that when he was 10 years old, Jorge saved money to take his younger sister, Nancy Mejía, to get a haircut, just to see how the stylists cut her hair.
But then, Jorge not only saw how it was done, but also was encouraged to do his sister’s hair.
“YesI was always combing her hair, but she didn’t like it and she ran away. She hid from me and cried and accused me of my mother.
‘Mom, I don’t want Jorge to do my hair,’ because he always pulled her hair,” says the stylist. “Since she was little she would put rolls and things in her hair to comb her hair.”
The now professional hairstylist said that at the age of 16 he started taking classes at a private school to learn how to cut hair professionally, but when he finished the program he couldn’t graduate because he didn’t have the money to pay the fees he owed.
Later he went to the United States and after working for several years, he saved enough and finally obtained his diploma that accredited him as a professional stylist.
Years later in California, she went to live with her brother Rafael Mejía and coincidentally the woman, the owner of the house, had two beauty salons, one in Santa Ana and the other in Anaheim.
It was then that Jorge received an opportunity to work in a beauty salon; However, despite the desire and knowledge acquired at school, he did not want clients to come to him.
“I was afraid. He hid me and told myself, don’t let people come, it’s better that people don’t come,” Jorge remembers.
Three months later and with the help of Erica, a coworker, Jorge gained enough confidence to dare to show his talent and everything he had learned during his time as a student.
Jorge wanted his own business
Without losing patience, he started saving money for a few years. He asked his aunt to help him, but he had no luck and had no choice but to continue saving.
His aunt’s refusal, far from discouraging him, motivated him more and he continued to focus on saving to buy his own place.
Suddenly and after several years, she saw an advertisement in the newspaper about the sale of a beauty salon in the city of Santa Ana, not far from where she lived.
When he visited the salon, it seemed a little small in size, but what encouraged him was that many clients came and he finally decided to buy the property.
Once he fulfilled his dream of having his own business, Jorge has focused on supporting the Latino community and the LGBT community.
Coincidentally, many of the stylists who have worked for him have been part of the LGBT community and migrants from other countries.
Fanny, a worker who identifies as part of the trans community, commented that she really likes the atmosphere of the salon.
She adds that in the month and a half she has been an employee, she greatly values the jokes and the good atmosphere generated in The White House; But the most important thing is that customers like it too.
“Many clients that we have already provided the service with stay longer because they like to listen to all the atrocities or jokes that this Delfino tells you.” [otro empleado] and Jorge,” said Fanny.
One day Jorge realized that someone in the community wanted to learn how to do hairstyles, so he bought him a hair cutting machine and taught him how to work. After a while, the boy named Brandon opened his own barbershop in the city of Anaheim.
Lately Jorge has noticed that the center of Santa Ana is changing a lot, with the renovation of new buildings and even the construction of the new tram that opens in 2024.
Even though small businesses have closed around his premises, Jorge is not worried, he feels calm and safe because he knows that with his talent and good humor he has already earned the support and trust of the community.