still not a fetish
02.16.05 // 8:58 a.m.

I recently watched Margaret Cho's film Revolution and felt like she had copied me.

I'm no comedian, but there was one part of her film that reminded me of something I wrote in here a couple years ago. In fact, it was one of my favorite entries.

So, I'm recycling it. I am still not a fetish.

No, I am not a Tejano music star whose heart rhythmically beated "bidi bidi bom bom" each time her lover neared but was silenced by the bullets of a crazed woman. I am not Selena (though I do admire her talent).

No, I don�t have the ass and weak singing skills of Jennifer "J.Lo" Lopez.

No, I have not dyed my hair blonde and "crossed over" to the mainstream in skimpy clothes all while belly dancing as Shakira has done.

No, I don�t play some of the most admired women in Latin America, such as Minerva "Mariposa" Mirabal or Frida Kahlo like Salma Hayek.

No, I don�t kick ass on a television series a la Jessica Alba.

No, I�m not a stick-thin espa�ola who is mistaken as a "Latina" and dates Tom cruise. I am not Penelope Cruz.

No, I�ve never recorded "canciones de mi padre" en espa�ol even though I don�t speak the language. No soy Linda Ronstadt.

No, I don�t whine "Billeeee!" in White Men Can�t Jump like Rosie Perez.

No, I�ve never worn a headdress filled with bananas and other tropical fruit as Carmen Miranda once did.

No, I did not play the stereotypical Mexican spit-fire-sex-kitten in several Hollywood films. No, I am not Dolores del R�o (though I do love her name).

No, I don�t have big hair like Charo, otra espa�ola who is "latina."

No, I am not a former MTV vee-jay and model. I am not Daisy Fuentes.

No, I do not sing Americanized forms of typical Cuban music produced by the Miami Sound Machine like Gloria Estefan (I really do like most of her music).

No, I am not a half-ecuatoriana, platinum blonde with horrifying makeup. I am not a genie in a bottle and don�t rub me the wrong way. No soy Christina Aguilera.

No, I do not sing "I like to leev een America..." on a rooftop as Rosita Moreno once did in West Side Story.

And, NO I am not the woman on the label of those awful canned beans, Rosarita.

Comments: 7 comments [this feature no longer works]

Me siento: unmotivated
Escuchando: Morning Edition on NPR

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s


star star star