Empanadas Do Not Make Vi and Va Dolls Stereotypical

A family of Latina dolls has exclusively hit the shelves at Target. Latina dolls that are familia, people! Viva familia!

FULL DISCLOSURE: I do not particularly like dolls, never have and I’m thinking that at this point in my life I probably never will, but I have two daughters one who sometimes likes dolls depending on the doll and one who ADORES dolls pretty much all the time. So, when I was asked if we would like to review MGA Entertainment’s recently launched new fashion doll line inspired by Latin cultures I was game. One look at the Vi and Va (pronounced like Viva!) line and I knew one of my daughters would ADORE the dolls, but I wasn’t quite sure what the other one would think.

Check out the dolls!

There is Viviana (Vi) and Valentina (Va) who are sisters. Their best friends Felicia and Roxxi also happen to be Vi and Va’s cousins. All four of these girls are big into family and the line is a celebration of family bonds. They each have their own interests: Vi is 16 years old and into music; Va is 15 years old and is into cooking; Felicia is 17 years old and digs art and Roxxi is 18 years old and smitten with dance.

So what did my girls think of these dolls?

Hold up, hold up! Before telling you what my girls thought of this familia of dolls, I have to acknowledge that the dolls have already caused some controversy. Why? Well, some people have gotten their chonies in a bunch because they think the dolls are stereotypical. What, you saw that coming? Yeah, me too.

You see the dolls are wearing what some consider “flashy” clothing and have accessories that some deem cliché. Here’s the thing: I don’t agree. Yes, the clothes are flashy and I wouldn’t wear them because I’m a grown up with thighs made of flesh and not plastic, but have you walked down the doll aisle lately? I haven’t really seen any demurely dressed dolls of late so I don’t think these Latina-inspired dolls are any more or less flashy than your average non-Latina dolls. As far as the accessories go, well what’s wrong with empanadas, art supplies, a guitar and a retro boom box? I say, NOTHING. Can’t a doll like making empanadas without being called a stereotype?

Anyway, the dolls arrived and to no one’s surprise my youngest, Luna Pie, swooned at the sight of them. But to my surprise Put Pie, my eldest, was really interested in the dolls too. I asked her if she wanted one and she nodded her head yes and pointed to Felicia. I’m not gonna lie, my heart sank because Felicia is the blond of the bunch and I thought, “Dang it! Are you kidding me, we finally get some Latina dolls and this kid wants the blond one when we already have tons of blond dolls to choose from?!” But I kept my thoughts to myself because I can’t put my issues on my kid and I asked her why she wanted that doll, her answer made my heart swell because she sweetly said, “Because she is an artist.” Felicia comes with a pallet, brush and art supply case and my eldest wants to be an artist when she grows up.

My littlest loves all the dolls equally. What was of particular interest to her and led to interesting conversations with her were the accessories. What captured her attention the most was the tray of empanadas that Valentina (Va) has and the earrings that all the dolls have.

I am a Latina mami of Mexican descent and even though I know how to make empanadas I’ve never made them for my kids. So I had to explain what empanadas are to my youngest, tell her how delicious they are and how we could make some together sometime and she was excited about that. Then she tilted her head down and looked up at me as she asked, “Maybe I need to wear earrings?” That’s right mi gente, I have not pierced my daughters’ ears. I responded, “Well, sure you could wear earrings like the dolls have, but we would have to get your ears pierced to have little holes like the ones the dolls have.” She looked horrified and said, “I think that would hurt. I don’t think I need earrings.”

The dolls have gotten a lot of play in our house and I’m interested to see how the line expands to include a wider variety of Latinas with even more varied skin tones and hair textures.

Vi and Va are modern Latinas so you can find and connect with them via their website, Facebook and Twitter.

The Giveaway

One lucky reader of this blog will win a Vi and Va Birthday Celebration package.

To enter, please follow the instructions in the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
–

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Vi and Va Dolls and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.