Latina Barbie

Is it just me, or are there numerous references to Barbie in the works we have read? Cisneros had Barbie-Q, in “Never Marry a Mexican” (I believe it was that story), the man’s wife was described as a red-haired Barbie, and in Alvarez’s book, in the story “Floor Show”, we see “a dozen dark-haired Barbie dolls dressed like Spanish señoritas…she was a perfect replica...dressed in a long, glittery gown with a pretty tortoise shell comb in her hair…” (183-184), which Sandi eventually uses to “thank” the American Mrs. Fanning.

I guess Barbie dolls have the ability to be the manufactured stars in the eyes of young girls around the world, and I can see their symbolic importance in certain contexts. I used to play with Barbie when I was younger. I remember wanting to have all of her clothes, and I wanted to (unfortunately when I was five) work at Pizza Hut like “Pizza Party Skipper”. I wanted it to be easy to identify myself with a doll, and in a way, play out the mansion-convertible-fifteen-cats life that I did not have. I also always wanted Mattel’s “Hispanic” Barbie with the dark hair “-Theresa (you girls know which one is Theresa!), and I would always settle for Christie, Barbie’s African-American friend. However, I was always less receptive to blonde Barbie. She just was so unlike me. I guess you could say I had “Barbie Syndrome”.

Side Note: Please Wikipedia “Barbie Syndrome”. It is actually quite sick, as is “Ken Syndrome”. Also, if you look into Barbie’s redheaded friend “Midge” on Wikipedia…that is also quite interesting.

Along the lines of this “Barbie Syndrome”, I can see why Alvarez may have put Barbie into Sandi’s recollection of her experience at “El Flamenco”. The dark-haired “Spanish” Barbie seems an interesting connection to Alvarez’s story. Whether or not Sandi usually had a preference for blonde, brunette, or redhead Barbie, she seemed determined to have the dark haired Spanish one at the end of the night. This makes me wonder: did Sandi choose this doll because it resembled her? Or was it because of her Spanish roots? Or was it because the Barbie doll looked nice? Or was it because the “American” (maybe non-Latina looking) Mrs. Fanning, who had already upset Sandi, did NOT resemble this doll that resembled Sandi’s mother, and she was using this doll as a way to express her identification?