Hair Salon & Book Store in San Pedro: Meet Kim Gonzalez

Kim Gonzalez, a native of Indiana, has been doing hair in San Pedro since the mid-1980s. Yes…that’s almost 40 years.

I first met Kim when I entered her shop on Middle Street…maybe 15 years ago…looking for used books. An avid reader, I had burned through the small selection I brought to the island when I moved here and I was starting to get desperate. I found the purple door for a lovely little shop – Aquarius Styling Salon and Used Books.

Kim has since moved to a new location and her shop is bigger and has more room for books. I drove by earlier this week and thought it was high time I got the scoop! It is a combination of a few of my favorite things in the world: Books and being a little bit curious/nosey: stories about how people found their way to Ambergris Caye with a nice dash of San Pedro history. She moved to the island when the population was barely more than 1000 residents.

Kim grew up and went to school outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. As her final year of high school, she studied at a cosmetology school, put in 1500 hours of training, and graduated at 18 with her certifications. She practiced in Indianapolis for 10 years – during the final years at her own salon.

She decided to get certified in SCUBA. And Belize was suggested as a good diving location. Ambassadair Travel in Indianapolis was doing a few charter flights directly from Indianapolis to Belize.

Certified – her final dives in a gravel pit, in Indiana in October – she traveled to San Pedro in 1983 with the Ambassadair group. Many of the group stayed at Ramon’s Village and the single travellers stayed at Ramon’s Two. A group of cabanas down the beach which later became Playador and the Exotic Caye Resort.

She loved it – and had so much fun on the island and in the water. The seed was planted. She booked a trip for the following year to move down here. The island didn’t have a hairdresser and that was a spot she could fill.

But Kim started to get cold feet. She had a life in Indianapolis and a beautiful new car (an Oldsmobile Brougham) – she was hesitant about what there was to do on the tiny island and whether she would fit in. She called Ambassadair to inquire about canceling. But they would not give her a refund. It was the push she needed. She packed her bags and trunks (the charter flight was an ideal way to bring all she needed) and moved to San Pedro in 1985.

Check out this great photo of her and her dad from the 80s in front of the old police station. As well as this quote: “It was the first time my father had come here after I moved here in 85. He wasn’t impressed at all. Asked me how I could live in a place like this? Since then, he has come to love it and if not for his age, would love to live here also.”

She rented a small space in Fido’s Courtyard, opening a salon and sleeping on a pull-out couch. She moved to Mahogany House – an apartment building on Middle Street that’s no longer there. She got married to a San Pedro, she had a son (and now a granddaughter) and she’s lived and worked in San Pedro ever since. From the time there were no golf carts (only a handful of British Land Rovers and three-wheelers) to now.

She’s been working with quite a few of her clients since she first moved to the island. If that’s not a good review…I don’t know what is.

Wait…I forgot about the books! Kim’s spot is also a book depository (an add on to the salon quite early on) – for swap and sale (no book is more than $5bzd) And she has a great collection in there. Kim is so lovely…I could have chatted for a lot longer…

To contact Kim, you can call her cell phone #621-0374 or you can drop in. Bring some books, buy some books, make an appointment for a hair cut and chat with Kim. What a great spot.