What to Wear and Other Stuff

First things first… My latest news is that I have decided to stretch my writing endeavors to help support others in THEIR endeavors. I figure that if I never make it to fame and fortune, well then at least I can help those who do or who are capable. So, I have started a new MySpace page dedicated to Latin@ writers, published and unpublished, and also for all those who admire them or … ahem… ASPIRE to BE them.
My new page can be found at www.myspace.com/literarylatinos
If you fall into any of the categories I mentioned, please feel free to send a friend request. I'll gladly accept. =)

Well, as I sit here amidst several piles of unfolded laundry, I can't help but wonder… Who out there ENJOYS folding laundry? And why does it seem like there is soooo much to fold, yet so little to wear? If the object were just to cover my body so as not to show nakedness, then I'd be okay. But the thing is… ya gotta try to look good… or at least presentable. And out of all the clothes in this pile, there are only a few items that I feel I look really "good" in.
You see, on a good day, I like to wear things that accentuate my curves… because I am, after all, a curvaceous Latina. And to add to that, I am a Latina who is over the age of 30, which means that on top of trying to accentuate curves, I have this intense desire to "sparkle". Glitter, sequins, bright colors… I'm like a monkey attracted to shiny objects.
Seriously though, I think that Latinos, in general, were peacocks in another life because we are so good at "strutting". I have an aunt who is renowned for it. She prides herself in wearing the boldest and brightest colors, the most colorful shoes, the bulkiest and sparkliest of jewelry, and she looks good in it!
If I were to try to wear one of her outfits, I'd look like a little girl playing dress up. You see, I have not yet mastered the art of flamboyancy. I am thinking that it comes with age. The Latina evolves in stages. Right now, I am just a fledgling… a mere "wannabe". But when I hit 40, watch out! I get to wear gold shoes with everything!
I remember when my aunt was younger, and her taste in clothes and jewelry used to make my cousins and I roll our eyes. Of course, we were younger, too. But I digress…
Even though she did not have OUR approval, she had the approval of the older "tias" in the family, who used to proclaim, "Ay! Que Barbara! Que Hermosa! Mira no mas!" as my aunt would flaunt her beautifully colored festive attire. Anything brightly colored or with bold print had their immediate approval. If it had sequins, you were ranked among the saints. Hmmm… come to think of it, the Virgen de Guadalupe is covered in glitter. No wonder she's revered. I guess that explains a lot.
Needless to say, my best friend and I used to swear up and down that we'd never be caught dead wearing ANYTHING with sequins. We sure are eating our words now. I think these days, if we could, we'd wear sequins in our hair…on our skin… wherever… as long as it sparkles.
Whereas before, when I was a child, my mother and I used to argue incessantly over what I should wear, these days I think we agree way too much. Over the holidays this past year, we went shopping, and we happened to find a very sparkly, extremely glittery, silvery colored ribbed/fitted V-neck sweater with sequins along the neckline, and believe it or not, we both fell in love with it. I could just hear my Tia Licha's voice in my head raving, "Ay! Que barbara!" So, of course, my mother insisted on getting it for me as a Christmas gift. I gladly accepted the gesture. (Imagine the monkey again…)
Unfortunately, the holidays came and went, and I did not get an opportunity to wear the sweater. Then, this past weekend… on Easter Sunday… as I got ready to make family visits… to gather my plates of home cooking from various residents, I remembered the sweater. There it was… all alone in my closet (because remember the rest of my clothes is in piles waiting to be folded)… There it was…calling to me… I actually had to debate over whether Easter was an appropriate holiday to wear such an ornate garment. The urge to sparkle was so overwhelming… Would it be blasphemous to wear glitter on the day of Christ's resurrection? I mean, the Virgen wears it all the time… what's a little glitter on Easter?
But, alas… I put the sweater away… because like I said before, I have not yet evolved into full-fledged sparkly stage. But someday… ah, yes… someday I will…
And someday I will probably wear that sweater with my gold shoes… and my aunt will gasp and proclaim, "Ay! Mira no mas! Que barbara! Que hermosa!" I can hardly wait…