2015
Angel V. Delgadillo Jr.
Arizona
Angel has received much national and international exposure for his part in saving a piece of history and for increasing tourism. He has been honored by the Arizona Speaker of the House, the Arizona State Governor, the Arizona Historical Foundation, and numerous Route 66 associations. Angel and the Delgadillo family are featured in an exhibition about Route 66 at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. He has been nicknamed "The Mayor of the Mother Road" and "The Guardian Angel of Route 66". Songs have been written about Angel and he has been featured in hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles all over the world including National Geographic in 1997.
Millions of viewers have watched him in popular documentaries such as Billy Connelly's Route 66. He has been interviewed over one thousand times in his barber shop by all sorts of journalists from famous professionals to children doing school projects. His interview with John Lasseter from Pixar, helped to create the story of the town Radiator Springs in the movie "Cars". You can see Angel on the Cars DVD giving one of the Pixar team a shave on the special feature titled "Inspirations." Angel has definitely
mastered the art of barbering while being interviewed. You can witness many of these haircuts/shaves/interviews on our youtube channel: www.youtube.com/route66giftshop
Even with all the attention he has received Angel is still genuinely happy for every visitor that graces his hometown. He delights in the joy he has given to the travelers of the world by preserving the piece of American history called Route 66. He loves to visit with the travelers who have come to Seligman specifically to meet him, and enjoys telling the saga of Seligman and Route 66 to those who are hearing it for the first time. He uses his own story to encourage people to not give up when faced with challenges and reminds them that one person, even a small town barber, CAN make a difference in the world.
At age 88, Angel still loves giving haircuts and sought after straight razor shaves at his business which is now a unique blend of barber shop. Route 66 gift shop, museum, and visitor's center. People come from all over the world to meet the man who, in an effort to save his town from economic collapse, inadvertently spearheaded a triumphant national and international interest and revival of Route 66 and made Seligman "The Birthplace of Historic Route 66." A typical day involves Angel giving a shave to a German biker while a crowd of Japanese tourists take pictures and videos. Many men travel across continents in hopes of getting a haircut or shave from Angel. When they have finished their oldfashioned barber experience and Angel has introduced them to the world as "Babyface", they almost always say that it the best shave they have ever received. When Angel is not available his barber shop and his antique barber chair are photographed by thousands of tourists throughout the year.