Italian cut

Hard-working immigrant barber keeps
clients looking straight and clean

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Carlo De Palma

Age: 47

Occupation: Barber

Bio: This personable, unassuming NDG stud arrived in Montreal via Naples, Italy way back in 1986. While growing up, Carlo “liked to do many things. Not so much the work or school but I like very much the soccer,” a sport he might’ve played professionally had his situation been different. “When you’re young, you have family to support, I didn’t have father to help me, many things like that which doesn’t make it easy.” Although arriving here with scant hair-cutting experience, Carlo developed his considerable barber skills by “working at many barbershops around Montreal, always working and learning and now I have 23 years experience.” Four years ago, he opened up his own barbershop at 4634 Notre Dame W. in St-Henri, called Barbier Urbain. “It’s good spot to start a business. Every month new customers. Now every day I give seven, eight, 10, 12 haircut.” He drives a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport.

Does a shave and a haircut still cost two bits? Not quite, but Carlo will style you a bitchin’ ’do for only 10 bucks, tax included. “Is good price. For the haircut, that’s good. I make a nice haircut because I’ve much experience now. I don’t do the shave anymore because many people scared for the AIDS, for the infections. Anyway, if you don’t shave so often, it isn’t growing very fast—when you shave all the time, the hair start growing very fast, needing more shaving.”

Will he trim nosehairs? “Oh, yeah, yeah, I do that.”

Earhair? “Oh yeah, yeah, sure, everything, I do that, eyebrows, everything. For me, it’s easy. Old people, they want this a lot, hair in the ears, nose, they want that cut.”

Who gets their hair styled by barbers anymore? “Every people come to see the barber. Old, young, there is no special age to come see the barber, 18-year-old boys and men with 80 years, everybody come see the barber. People tell their friends, they say, ‘Go see Carlo the barber, he’s very good.’”

Are these what he might consider “stylish” folk? “No. They let me do their style because they trust me and know I give a nice haircut. Even the younger people who come see me, they’re not so into fashion, they just want a good straight haircut at a good price.”

Best part of the gig: “Knowing that the people are coming especially for you, asking me, ‘Carlo, I need haircut, you cut for me.’ And that’s fun, that’s nice, people trust me, and I like that. Also, I really like to cut hair. When I am cutting hair, I am enjoying my time.”

Worst: “Passing the broom, I don’t like. But all the rest I like, I like dealing with any kind of people. When you understand the people, you give respect and it makes the job more easy, because you like the people. And I have many type of people who come here, the police, engineers, plumbers, painters, any kind of people. Some people come because they are stressed and they want to talk to me. They tell me everything. They need haircut, they stay with me 20 minute and we talk and then it’s okay.”

Last book read: The Divine Comedy, by Dante.

Musical preferences: Pavarotti, Bocelli, Ennio Morricone.

Words of wisdom: “Life is beautiful.”

Comments: dimwit@hdot.net