By Linda Castillo
Who remembers playing with Barbies? As a child, I love to play with Barbies for hours. Dressing them up and creating elaborate story ideas for what the new adventure that Barbie would have. I still have one of my favorite Barbies, Pretty In Pink, with other prized possessions in storage.
So you only imagine how excited I was to see that Mattel created ‘Día de Muertos’ doll. The first-ever ‘Día de Muertos” doll debuted last year with overwhelming popularity. As such, Mattel will be introducing a new 2020 edition of the doll to celebrate the holiday and the doll’s designer, Javier Meabe, shared his hope about how these collectable ‘Día de Muertos’ Barbies can bring more awareness to Día de Muertos celebration.
“My hope for these dolls is that they’re able to bring more awareness to the Dia de Muertos celebration,” Meabe said in a statement from Mattel. “The Dia de Muertos celebration is very important because it honors and pays respect to family and friends that are no longer with us. It is such a beautiful tradition and I love that Barbie is now honoring the Dia de Muertos holiday. I also know how important representation is in our community, and I wanted little girls to see themselves through this doll. Barbie has always been a doll that celebrates women and dreams and inspires girls. I am beyond grateful that Barbie is now celebrating traditions and cultures that mean so much to so many people.”
The second edition of the doll is just as exquisite as the first one. It features new textures, fabrics, flowers, and a new dress silhouette. Additionally, there was great attention paid by the artists and designer to keep with traditional aspects of the Día de Muertos. Barbie artists and designers found ways to introduce new elements to the second doll while still keeping traditional aspects important to the Día de Muertos celebration, including holiday like marigolds, skeleton details, and Calaveras makeup.
Within a very short period, the 2020 edition was sold out! I have my name on a waiting list, but I was so sad that I missed purchasing one again this year.
Photos: Courtesy of Mattel.
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of www.ModernLatina.com. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.