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Latino “Vanidad”

My aim within this Tumblr is to provide insight into a certain trend that Latinos practice within daily society. I am speaking of the trend in which Latino men practice daily and highly care about their physical appearance ranging from the clothes they wear to their daily hygiene routines as a means to look presentable for society and show their confidence and machismo. Within American society though, men in general seem to only dress up or practice proper hygiene when it is absolutely necessary such as going to work or going out to formal situations. Therefore I felt a strong need to show the positive aspects about this trend and how it has changed from the emergence of the “Zoot Suit” to how many Latino men today choose to dress and portray themselves in American society. Along with this I have chosen to address terms such as “Vanidad” and how it is being used to describe this particular style, if it is a good or bad term, and why marketing and media images are influencing teens today to reflect this style. 

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What’s the deal with Latinos and trying to look so nice??

I will admit I sound like a bigoted jerk with the title seen above, it is not at all a reflection of how I feel about Latinos/as. Merely, I have heard many of my white friends ask this of me or have heard them say it in the past. Now as a White-American I have often wondered why Latinos feel the need to grease their hair so much or dress so sharply for even the smallest of situations. Although I have a very large amount of Latino friends and am well accustomed to their culture due to being bilingual in English and Spanish, before now I have never thought to really research the meanings and reasonings behind Latino Vanity or “Vanidad” as some put it. I have never once thought to really ask my friends for their own input into the matter or possibly what their parents think about this specific Latino style. Now I am not saying whatsoever that it is a bad thing that Latinos spend a good deal of time making themselves look presentable, rather, from my research and interviews with my Latino friends and their parents I have found that it is a good thing. From my findings I see the best way to describe their reason for looking presentable more than most Americans is a quote from my friend Rossana’s father named Rosendo. He describe this style as, “If I look good, I feel good.” and began to see a pattern develop among those I interviewed in which many agreed that confidence was the main reason for taking care of themselves. They went on further to say that images like Christiano Ronaldo or Enrique Iglesias or Prince Royce have a strong influence on how many Latinos in America try to dress like or look. I invite anyone that wishes to propose their own thoughts on why Latinos work hard to look presentable. 

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Latino “Vanidad” Style Origin

Originally, the “Vanidad” style that we see today among many other styles like cholo or “Low-rider” has stemmed from the “Zoot Suit” culture in which as you will see in some of my other posts was the main way teens during the late 30′s, 40′s, and 50′s created their own identity. It was a means in which they could reject current Anglo-American societal norms and be free to create their own image. “Zoot Suits” specifically, were seen as long baggy dress pants and a tight fitting suit jacket and typically at times a very wide flat rimmed hat. As you will see in a later video of a replication of what a Latino Dance hall for zoot suitors would have looked like during those times to get an idea for the dress. 

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Scenes such as this reflect the very beginning of the “Zoot Suit” identity during the 1940′s. Specifically, in this context, the video is aimed at reflect Latinos/as during those times in a traditional dance hall in which Latino/a teens were able to express themselves and feel confident about themselves through their dancing and type of dress. 

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Within the “Zoot Suit”identity the specific “Ducktail” hairstyle can still be seen today among many Latino men which is described as a “Slicked-Back”, gelled, hair style as seen by the picture on the right. During the early stages of the Zoot Suit trend, Latino men like today cared highly about their hair specifically and sometimes, for example, within the newspaper clipping, Magistrates would even go as far as to shave their hairstyle as a means of punishment. If you cannot see the caption below the picture it reads, “–Zoot-suiter Adolph Vargas hastily ducks from his duck-tail coiffure to comply with sentence by justice of peace at Montebello” - Times Photo. 

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Julie and Armando recalled the boys’ hair during their 1950s and early ‘60s school days. Referring to boys in their early teens, Julie said, 'Their hair had to e just right. I remember I used to see these guys in front of store windows, man just [gestures combing hair]. All they cared about was that.

Laura Lee Cummings (Pachucas and Pachucos in Toucson: Situated Border Lives)

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This is a good representation for how men’s standards of beauty are seen for different countries around the world. 

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Today, Latinos like myself still, after all the obstacles we have overcome and contributions we have made to this country, feel inferior to Americans (usually white) because we are always seen as illegal or impoverished and dirty because of how the media portrays us and dressing nicely and looking good provides Latinos like myself as a means of rejecting those stereotypes geared towards us.

Rosendo Medina

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A Pew Hispanic Center report based on a new nationwide survey of Latino youths and on analyses of government data examines the values, attitudes, experiences and self-identity of this generation as it comes of age in America.

“Latinos believe in the rewards of hard work. More than eight-in-ten—including 80% of Latino youths and 86% of Latinos ages 26 and older—say that most people can get ahead in life if they work hard.” (Pew Research Center)

I chose this quote above because it supports my findings within my interviews and how looking good makes one feel better about themselves. In relation to the quote in which Rosendo Medina makes in that many Latinos still feel inferior to Americans and one way they rebel against this feeling is by dressing nicely and looking good overall. It becomes a way in which those still along the poverty level can feel successful and remind them that working hard will allow them to achieve their own personal goals.

This study conducted by the Pew Research Center is a means to show statistics of Latin American children and their certain attitudes and other statistics ranging from demographics to what country they identify with, their country of origin or their newly settled one. 

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For Mexican American Latinos like my cousins, making yourself look good is a reflection of traditional Mexican values as a means to feel confident about yourself and feel good about yourself while interacting within American society.

Rossana Medina

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New Univision Study Shows Latinosí Personal Care Rituals go Beyond the Basics; Look for Culturally Relevant Ads New York, NY — Hispanic men not only associate the use of grooming products with personal confidence and attractiveness, but also believe that looking good is a way to get ahead in life and at work, according to... Read more »

“The findings of Univisionís study prove that as marketers we have to shed the misperception of Hispanic men as ëmachosí and start to look at them as ëvanidososí who take extra care of their appearance,î said Ruth Gaviria, SVP of Corporate Marketing, Univision Communications. ìLatinos derive a significant amount of self-esteem from smelling, looking and feeling their best and now routinely engage in more refined personal care, such as nail care, lotions and neat trimming, with more frequency than non-Hispanics. This makes Latinos part of an extremely strong and vibrant growth opportunity for male personal care brands.î”

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Read Adam Tschorn’s article below: Latino men devote more effort to looking good, a new study reports The takeaway is that growth in the men’s grooming arena will be driven by the personal care habits of Latinos. Goodbye, metrosexual, and hola, vanidoso. Increasingly, growth in the men’s grooming arena will be driven by the personal... Read more »

The study this article pertains to was conducted by Univision in 2000 and released its findings in New York. Although I was unable to find a list of the results, I have found many different articles written about the findings and they are all extrmely similar with a slight difference in context.

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American FactFinder is your source for population, housing, economic and geographic information.

These statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau provide factual evidence to support that the Latin American population is the majority within the United States. Because of this it supports the increasing amount of ads geared towards the Latin American population which further supports many Latin American styles such as the one I have been speaking of. 

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Adds like this are targeted specifically towards the Latino audience due to Enrique Iglesias being the main subject to show his well-groomed physique while being coupled with a sexual red coloring in the background and bottle. Latino men are highly influenced by ads such as these because it convinces them if they buy this product they too could look and feel as successful and attractive as Enrique.