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Friday, July 16, 1999

Hispanic role models going mainstream
Selena fashion line not only profitable but also inspiring
By Darren Barbee
Caller-Times

Selena's legacy played on the large screen above the catwalk: The singer's hands stretch out and then pull toward her chest in closed, clenched fists while her coffee-colored eyes seem full of longing.
   Next, sensual lips open and close in a voiceless, passionate song. Then, again and again, she pushes up the black coils of her hair in a dark flame of sexuality.
   An announcer's voice rounds off the lengthy intro-video to Selena's new fall fashions by proclaiming, "Selena: The look, the line, the legacy."
   Cue the models, who stream down the catwalk wearing shimmering blouses, dark leather, gripping jeans, high heels.
   And honor.
   A few hours before the show, model Angelica Rosas said that wearing the Selena line was about more than just looking beautiful when strutting down the runway at the League of United Latin American Citizens convention.
   "It's something a legend wore, " said Angelica, 16. "It's not CK or Guess. It's by a Mexican designer. We wear it with a little more pride."
   It's in the numbers
   Selena's gift to her fans is her music, but her lasting contribution is as a role model to young Hispanic women.
   Selena apparel has for the past year and a half made commercial sense for J.C. Penney. . The twin motivators of business - profit and marketable consumers - have sent Selena's fashions to 200 of the retailer's 1,200 stores.
   Ricky Martin. Jennifer Lopez. Selena. Hispanics are a demographic hot button during a time in which Manny Fern ndez, J.C. Penney multicultural advertising manager, says, "Latino's are suddenly cool."
   "Absolutely it's a business decision," Fern ndez said of the Selena Line. "Hispanics have the numbers."
   This week, LULAC's 70th convention has shown up in those numbers discussing diversity, the importance of Census 2000 and education. And while LULAC officials, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and delegates have stressed the importance of those critical issues, identity still matters.
   Positive reinforcement
   Behind the glitz and the number-crunching of the Selena Line, a major retailer has established a Hispanic identity in the mainstream culture. That makes what might otherwise be someone cashing in on a dead music superstar valid and important.
   "Less than 3 percent of all media images are of Hispanics, and most of them bad," Fern ndez said. "This is a positive image of young talented Hispanics."
   Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga, Selena's sister, said one of Selena's dreams was to have her own fashion line.
   "I know it does (give hope) to a lot of people," Quintanilla said. "They say how much they like Selena's clothes. They see what she accomplished, and they want to succeed the way that she did."



Staff writer Darren Barbee can be reached at 886-3764 or by e-mail at barbeed@caller.com

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