Ana Sandoval, Author at Latina

Teens of LA: A Quinceañera, a Prom Queen and an Anime Lover

Ana Sandoval — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:00:06 +0000

Personal style is all about creative self-expression. It might be piecing together your favorite shirt with your comfiest pair of Converse Chucks and a scarf your mom finally let you take from her closet. Or styling hand-me-downs that your grandmother has saved since the 1970s, instinctively knowing that trends always come back.

Latina spoke with three high schoolers from different Los Angeles barrios — Hollywood Dell, Boyle Heights, and Covina Hills — who are each developing their own distinctive sense of self and style. After almost two full years of learning over zoom and missing milestone birthdays and events, today, these girls are getting all dressed up with somewhere to go. The occasion: Women’s History Month.

Paloma, a high school senior ready to start college, experiments with her newfound sense of laid-back style and fashions a lived-in Prom look. Erika, a junior in high school, finally has an occasion to wear the quinceañera dress that has been hanging in her closet since 2020. Naima, a sophomore in high school, evokes her love of anime with a Harajuku style dress and petticoat. Each of these self-styled outfits portray the idiosyncrasies of these three teenage girls, coming of age in moments of celebration.

PALOMA

Paloma and her mom share most of their clothes. And undeniably, Paloma’s mom is one of her fashion icons. Being able to borrow her clothes and style them with idiosyncratic accessories has defined Paloma’s sense of style. A single mother who independently raised her daughter, Paloma’s mother is the eighteen year old’s ultimate inspiration. Paloma sees her mother’s perseverance and ability to push forward as her best qualities.

Paloma, who is Peruvian-American and Puerto Rican, admits that her style used to be much more formal. However, today, she spends her time scouring Depop, looking for comfortable yet trendy outfits. Like many of us, she says she falls victim to fashion trends that come and go, but tries to reinvent what is already in her closet into something new. She especially loves getting dressed up for her birthday, when all her friends and family come together to celebrate.

As a high school senior, Paloma has a ton on her plate but between classes, working on her independent art zine, and honing her artistic skills, she prefers spending time at home and hanging out with her best friend, Guine. While all her friends struggle with the infamous senioritis syndrome, Paloma is “straight chillin” in her last semester of high school. She loves her Ghetto Film School course, in which her instructor teaches them the ins and outs of creating films — something she hopes to do after she graduates.

Paloma says she often still feels like a kid, despite recently turning eighteen. She longs for older people to take her seriously and to get the independence that post-adolescence can bring. With graduation just a few months away, Paloma is looking forward to attending college, moving into her own apartment, and finally getting to feel like a real adult.

ERIKA

Erika grew up among many women. While she has one brother, her four female cousins play major roles in her life. With so many girls around, she came to understand that femininity can take many forms and manifest in different ways through personal style.

She enrolled in a high school with a uniform dress code, so she started to look forward to quintessential teen moments that would allow her to dress up and express herself. Yet, she has spent a majority of her high school experience learning remotely from home. Today, she is grateful to have an occasion to wear a dress that has been hanging in her closet since 2020, untouched and unworn, but patiently waiting to have its moment.

Growing up attending her cousins’ and friends’ quinceañeras, Erika has been waiting for her own time to come. When her 14th birthday passed, her parents asked her to decide between an international trip or a quinceañeara party. Her answer? Emphatically the latter. Her birthday has always been her favorite day to celebrate with people she loves.

When her school promptly shut down in-person classes back in March of 2020, Erika realized that the quince she had always dreamt of would likely be canceled. And so, her dream dress remained in her closet for nearly two years as she took Zoom classes and practiced for her school’s soccer team online, kicking a ball against the wall as her soccer coach watched through the screen.

The student athlete’s parents are both Mexican — her father is from Mexico City and her mother is from Guadalajara. Erika, a child of immigrants, says that culture is all about family and togetherness. Disappointed that her quince was postponed indefinitely, Erika was comforted that hers was not the only one. Many of her friends also had to cancel their parties. And while the extravagant party she had always pictured, with hundreds of guests, and her family flying in from Mexico, never happened, she recently celebrated her Sweet 16, wearing a comfortable dress she picked out for the occasion.

NAIMA

Naima enjoys complexity. In school, she welcomes subjects she is admittedly not the best at, excited by the possibility of getting better at them. She credits her ability to do this to her mom and grandmothers. They have instilled the values of bravery, strength, and perseverance.

When Naima was ten years old, her mom and her moved from New York City to Los Angeles. They settled in Boyle Heights because the neighborhood reminded Naima’s mom of the Bronx, their hometown. On Christmas, Naima and her family go back to New York City, where she can see her best friend and the rest of her Dominican family. Naima’s favorite thing about her Latinx culture is that there is no expected way that she is supposed to look. She loves trying different foods, and meeting people with different backgrounds and personalities who share the same cultural identity.

When Naima needs an outlet to express herself, she turns to writing. She finds comfort in creating stories that reflect her emotions, while also allowing her to explore them more deeply. She loves to draw, noting that she can create anything and everything through art. And, more than anything, she loves that there are no right or wrong answers — or limits — in writing and art.

Naima is a big anime fan: her room features a carefully curated collection of anime figurines and decorations. Every day she carefully arranges her stuffed animals, which she calls her plushies, on her bed. While she doesn’t have a list of her favorite animes, she favors mystery and psychological horrors. She appreciates that there is usually symbolism behind the stories, which means she can spend time deeply analyzing them.

The outfit she chose for this shoot is one that she bought over a year ago but hadn’t found the right time to wear. It’s inspired by Japanese fashion and her interest in anime. In general, Naima would describe her style as free. She chooses to feel comfortable in her own skin above all else.

Our Women’s History Month campaign is done in collaboration with Converse, who has partnered with Latina photographer Thalia Gochez and Las Fotos Project to photograph their latest collection, We Are Stronger Together. The collection is concepted and designed by women to inspire creativity, growth and strength in unity.

Las Fotos Project is a community-based nonprofit organization that inspires teenage girls & gender-expansive youth through photography, mentorship, and self-expression. Their mission is to elevate the voices of teenage girls & gender-expansive youth from communities of color through photography and mentoring, empowering them to channel their creativity for the benefit of themselves, their community, and future careers. For more information on the program and its history, head to their website.

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Ask a Love Doctor: Modern Love, Dating Apps, and Scams

Ana Sandoval — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 20:53:28 +0000

In 2022, love doesn’t look quite like the fairy tales and romcoms many grew up watching. In the age of the pandemic and dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, it can feel like love is near impossible to find. Zoom and FaceTime dates have made it awkward and difficult for many to put themselves out there. Authenticity is also a significant area of concern; you can never be sure who you’re talking to online.

Netflix’s new documentary “Tinder Swindler” is a cautionary tale about the modern dangers that exist on dating apps. The documentary follows three women who were conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by Shimon Hayut, a.k.a Simon Leviev, a scammer that used Tinder to lure his victims. Hayut would tell the women that he loved them and buy them expensive gifts and vacations. All the while, he was lying about being the heir of a diamond fortune and stealing their money.

While this story might seem extreme for the average dater, it reveals a lot about the dynamics of virtual dating. Cecilia Alegria, who calls herself La Doctora Amor or Doctor of Love, has been studying love and relationships for most of her life. She has written two books specifically about dating apps. I spoke with her in early February, hoping to unpack her thoughts on modern dating.

To Alegria, the story of the “Tinder Swindler” is about somebody who doesn’t believe in love at all. “We see ourselves at two extremes: those who perceive love as a just feeling, with high expectations that it will work well all the time,” says Alegria, “and those who have become rather ironic, satirical critics of what love is.” In 2020 alone, the FTC reported that victims lost about $304 million from online dating scams. There is always a risk that a person on the other end of a dating app is actually fake or a scammer.

According to La Doctora, those storybook expectations about love and relationships ultimately fail naive daters. “[These women] didn’t know [Hayut], and they put their whole hearts into that relationship only to be scammed,” Alegria explains. Her number one tip for those going on dates with someone new: always make sure to Google them.

When a dater first begins talking to someone on a dating app, Alegria stresses the importance of looking for clear red flags like refusing to FaceTime or meet in person. If somebody is asking for money, it is always best to stay away. While these tips might seem crudely obvious, red flags aren’t always so easy to pick up.

“The first stage in almost all couples … is the infatuation phase. That is why we get that famous phrase that everyone says – love is blind,” Alegria says. She also says to watch out for love bombs, where a new person will start to talk about kids and marriage within the first couple of conversations. According to Alegria, that usually points to somebody who has nefarious intentions or who might not have realistic relationship goals.

Intentions can sometimes be difficult to measure up, especially online. “[Someone] may say they want something more casual or something more relationship-oriented, while they actually just want to hook up, or they are in for a really brief sexual experience or the other way around,” says 21-year-old Theo Hernandez, “and that’s just like, really confusing.”

Hernandez, who identifies as a gay cisgender man, has used Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr. Commonly referred to as a hookup app, Grindr is also a place for members of the LGBTQ+ community to connect in a safe and comfortable space.

“I feel like other dating apps are really restrictive. Meanwhile, on Grindr, there’s a lot of people looking for different things, even though it’s mostly sexual,” explains Hernandez, “It still does leave some room for other interests.”

Dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge, designed with cisgender and heterosexual people in mind, can be challenging places for members of the LGBTQ+ community to find what they are looking for. These mainstream apps have made efforts to make their spaces more inclusive, like in 2016 when Tinder introduced 40 gender options to allow room for more gender identities on the app. While the change pointed towards some hopeful signs of progress, transgender users reported that they were getting repeatedly suspended or banned for no reason.

These issues are not just affecting trans and nonbinary daters. Lesbian users on Tinder have reported having cisgender men come up as they are swiping, despite having stated their dating preferences on the app. A new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality found that test subjects were 2.3 to 3.3 times less likely to swipe right on Black versus white users.

La Doctora cautions all daters — regardless of gender identity or sexuality — to use their judgment and intuition to weed out risky situations.

Victims who have fallen prey to scams or unfortunate situations often feel helpless, but Alegria points out that intelligent people also fall for scams. “We all want to believe in love,” she explains “Most people with good self-esteem think ‘It may be true that after seeing my profile, reading what I wrote, listening to me talk on the phone … that person has already detected that I am a good candidate for a relationship.’”

Even the doctor of love has fallen victim to ignoring red flags and becoming entangled with a scammer. Alegria says that when she first became a widow, she dated questionable men. Once, she dated someone who lived in another state, who said he didn’t have enough money to see her. The two finally met up, only after Cecilia suggested meeting him halfway.

“He was like a gigolo scammer. But we were more or less the same age,” Alegria says. “When I arrived, he told me, ‘Hey, you know I’m bad financially, it’s good that you’re staying in a hotel because I don’t have a place to stay.’” After that, he continued to ask her to pay for things until finally, Alegria had enough.

“I told [him], ‘I’m very sorry, but I didn’t come here for you to use me as a wallet. It was nice meeting you, but I’m totally disappointed.’” Alegria understood then that he never wanted to pursue a serious relationship with her. “He was broke and he wanted to take advantage of me. That’s why he was always looking for excuses not to come to see me in our long-distance relationship.”

Taking a chance on love has never been easy, but in the online dating world of the 21st century, there are unique risks that come attached to looking for the one. Avoiding scams is possible as long as daters take precautions when meeting people and remain vigilant throughout their relationships. And for LGBTQ+ and queer people, the user experiences of dating apps makes it doubly difficult to date. Still, humans will always have a strong desire to connect and find love. While swiping right in today’s age can lead to fulfilling relationships, knowing the risks can help you find something authentic.

The post Ask a Love Doctor: Modern Love, Dating Apps, and Scams appeared first on Latina.

A History of Latinos at the Winter Olympics

Ana Sandoval — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 12:43:38 +0000

Latin America is perhaps most recognized worldwide for its warm climate, vast rainforests and jungles, beautiful beaches, and humid temperatures. However, outside perspectives tend to forget that there are some of the world’s tallest snowy mountains and best ski resorts in the southernmost parts of the region and where the 4,500 miles of Andes Mountains stretch. For example, the slopes of Chile and Argentina provide miles and miles of ideal skiing conditions. And in Chile, the slopes are relatively close to the nation’s capital of Santiago, making these sports ever more accessible to the population. Still, Latinos have a relatively small presence at the Winter Olympics, the world’s biggest and most dramatic stage for winter sports.

The first-ever Winter Olympics was hosted in the French Alps in 1924, with athletes from all over the world demonstrating their skills in the most popular winter sports. Yet, Latin American countries were conspicuously missing from the lineup. It wasn’t until the second games, hosted in Switzerland, that Argentina and Mexico submitted their bobsled teams, marking the beginning of years of participation by Latino athletes in the games.

Slowly but surely, athletes from different countries have entered the competition. And while Latino athletes have certainly made their presence known at the games, no Latin American country has ever won a medal at the Winter Games.

Nevertheless, Latino athletes have made significant headlines, particularly with their bobsled teams. The stories have touched the hearts of many, probably because bobsledding seems like an unlikely sport for these athletes to pick up. What’s more, while the region certainly has conditions that accommodate skiing, bobsledding is harder to come by.

Most famously, the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics had a particularly inspiring story that got turned into the hit Disney movie “Cool Runnings.” But there was another team hailing from a warm-weather country that beat the odds and fought for their love of bobsledding. The Tames brothers, five men from Mexico, also competed at the games that year. The brothers grew up watching bobsled teams race at tremendous speeds and fell in love with the sport.

Bobsledding wasn’t accessible in Mexico City, so they set off to raise the money necessary to take trips to Upstate New York and practice the sport, eventually qualifying for the Calgary games that year. After relocating to Dallas to make more money and have access to better practice facilities, the Tames brothers drove themselves to Canada — a journey that took 53 hours. They did not medal at the Olympics, but their show of athleticism and commitment to a sport that was so out of reach to them is proof of how even when it feels unlikely and unattainable, Latinos can compete in these sports at the highest level.

While bobsled teams have made headlines, arguably the most popular sport at the Winter Games is skiing. Costa Rica was one of the early Latin American nations to participate, sending Arturo Kinch to the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Kinch has since competed at three other Winter Olympics, never winning a medal.

Over the years, the region has sent more and more athletes to the games. Finally, at the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia, we saw the largest delegation from the region yet. With 40 athletes from 13 Latin American countries competing in all sorts of skiing and bobsledding events, the region had some historic showings at these games.

Some nations, like Venezuela, have only ever sent one athlete. The first and only competitor from the nation, Antonio Pardo, made his debut at the 2014 Sochi Games. First, the 43-year-old had to establish a ski federation, of which he made himself president and then moved to Argentina to pursue training. A video of him walking as the only athlete for his nation at the opening ceremony went viral on social media that year.

Other nations, like Puerto Rico, have outsourced talent from other countries to participate under their name. Charles Flaherty, who first competed for Puerto Rico in 2018 in alpine skiing, is one of the athletes the country recruited. His love for skiing grew from a place of necessity. The athlete’s younger brother William suffered from a life-threatening immunodeficiency disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. When Flaherty was seven, he had to donate bone marrow to his younger brother to help with his treatment.

Flaherty’s family moved to Puerto Rico when he was eight, around the same time that they discovered skiing could be an effective therapy for William, allowing him to move his body and strengthen his bones. From there, the brothers began to take the sport more seriously, paving the way to Flaherty’s Olympic debut. Remarkably, Flaherty’s brother William will be competing for Puerto Rico in this year’s Olympics.

Outside of the region’s countries, Team USA also has had several notable Latino athletes. The first Latino to ever represent Team USA at the Winter Olympics was in 1956. Catherine “Cathy” Machado Gray ice skated in the games and subsequently made history. Machado spent her entire life ice skating, perfecting her craft and eventually making her way to the Olympics. She is a two-time U.S. bronze medalist and was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2005.

Latinos have defeated the odds and made their way onto the Olympic stage with a passion for winter sports. And while the region might not be rampant with gold, silver, or even bronze winter Olympic medals yet, Latinos have been able to get their names on the roster at the most competitive winter sports competition in the world. And hey, animo, the possibility of winning a medal is always a motivator to get more Latinos to pursue these sports and compete at the games. So those who watched this year’s Olympics and wondered if they could one day compete should look at these stories for inspiration and examples of how hard work and dedication can lead one to surpass expectations.

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Beijing Olympics 2022: Latino Athletes to Look Out For

Ana Sandoval — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:30:52 +0000

The 2022 Winter Olympics are just around the corner, and Latinos from all over the world have their skis, skates and bobsleds packed and ready for Beijing.

Athletes from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago will be shredding the slopes in just a few days. However, due to mounting COVID-19 restrictions set by the Chinese government, this year’s Winter Games will look different from previous years. All athletes are required to opt into a complete COVID bubble of isolation from the rest of the city. They will follow a strict protocol that includes daily COVID tests, mask enforcements and strict vaccination and isolation rules. Undoubtedly, this year’s Olympics will be a unique experience for everyone participating. .

Between the fourth and the 20th of February, fans will watch the world’s top athletes compete against one another. Could this be the year that a Latin American country finally wins a medal? Here are the Latino athletes that LATINA cannot wait to cheer on:

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Brazilian Bobsled

Brazil is joining the bobsledding competition with their two and four-man teams. However, one of the men participating in the competition, Edson Luques Bindilatti, stands apart. 42-year old Bindilatti is competing at his fifth Winter Olympics and has been with the Brazilian team since 2000. Like many other Latino bobsledders, Bindilatti joined the team despite never seeing snow before. In fact, viewing the iconic “Cool Runnings” film compelled him to try the sport.

Teammates Erick Gilson Vianna Jeronimo, Rafael Souza da Silva and Edson Ricardo Martins will be competing with Bindilatti in the competition and hoping to finally win a Winter Olympic medal for the region.

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Francesca Baruzzi Farriol
Argentina, Alpine Skiing

From Buenos Aires, this 23-year-old skier has been shredding the slopes since she was only a child. Born to two ski instructors, Baruzzi Farriol‘s passion for the sport is in her blood. She began skiing professionally at 10, with her father coaching her to Beijing for her Olympic debut.

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Sabrina Cass
Brazil, Freestyle Skiing

19-year-old Sabrina Cass is competing in her first Winter Olympics. She will be the first-ever Brazilian mogul skier to compete in the games. Born in the United States, Cass’s family would drive her to the mountains every weekend to ski. Then, in 2021, she reached out to the Brazilian Snow Sports Federation, offering to compete for her maternal land. Making history this year, Cassis will attract attention for Team Brazil.

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Rodolfo Roberto Dickson Sommers
Mexico, Alpine Skiing

Dickson Sommers is competing in his second Winter Olympics. The 24-year-old was born in Mexico and adopted by a Canadian family when he was one. He has a long history with the sport, picking up skiing when he was just six years old. Proud of his Mexican heritage, Dickinson Sommers is happy to represent his birth country at the Olympics.

“I really want to start something new. There are a lot of young guys in Colorado who could represent Mexico, so in a few years, I hope there will be a big team and athletes capable of being really successful,” he says.

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Donovan Carrillo
Mexico, Figure Skating

Carrilo will be the fourth ever Mexican figure skater to compete at a Winter Olympics and the first since 1992, making history in Beijing. Carillo is trailblazing for more figure skaters from his home country to join an under-enrolled sport in Mexico.

Chilean alpine skier Emilia Aramburo pictured here. Photography courtesy of El Deportero.

Emilia Aramburo
Chile, Alpine Skiing

At just 19, Aramburo is the youngest athlete representing Chile in the Beijing Olympics. This will also be the skier’s first international competition and her first-ever Olympics.

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Latinos on Team USA

Of course, we can’t forget about the Latinos participating on behalf of the United States on Team USA.

Carlo Valdes began competing with the bobsled team in 2014. After a short hiatus, he announced his intention to return to the team and qualify for Beijing. Valdes is a former UCLA football player introduced to bobsledding by a former teammate.

Also competing is Alex Ferreira, a 27-year-old freestyle skier from Colorado who has been on the national team since 2015. Ferreira is mentored by his father, a former professional soccer player in Argentina. This will be his second time competing at the Winter Olympics.

Finally, Kristen Santos is a short-track speed skater competing in her first-ever Olympics. She began figure skating when she was three years old and transitioned to short track at nine. The 27-year-old is making her Olympic debut, and we cannot wait to watch her speed down the ice.

Animo, Latinos!

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