La Vida Yaya

Nothing is more inspiring than a woman who trailblazes through a man's world with such style and grace as this sultry diva of rhythm. In the manly world of salsa music, she shows the boys that the pulse of the earth is no more ingrain and natural than to woman. This week's Latina Fashionista is passionate Cubana percussionist Melena Born in Havana Cuba, Melena has mastered the traditional rhythms that have traveled from Africa to Cuba, to the dance floors of America. Her Afro-Cuban sound is a conversation of melodies which she plays with fierce passion. Melena is a multi-talented percussionist who is at home on congas, timbales, bata drums, and shekere. She exemplifies the sound of legendary players from the past, to the modern sound of today. Let's take a look her her glitzy performance outfits. If you want to leave no doubt that you are the star of the show, you can't go wrong with a shimmering fringed sexy number like this one. The more she shakes that...

When I look back on my time as a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers teenager, I wonder when it was that I decided to toss off the boxy look and accentuate my body to show that I actually had one. It had to have been right after my freshman year in college. I remember buying up every collegiate t-shirt ever printed to add to my wardrobe, and no, girl shirts hadn't been invented yet. Then one day, our dorm rooms got together to have a nice dinner. I donned on the one plain navy blue A-line dress that twirled up nicely when I spun around and wowed at the attention from the boys. That's when I thought, hey, dresses aren't half bad. I should wear them more often! After that it was a journey of discovery and budget balancing to find the looks that were right for me. I looked to other women who looked good on a daily basis and one of those women was my former coworker Nesly Palacios. Every day she had on a professional look that wasn't dumpy or covered in a shapeless blazer that ...

This is my new feature! Latina Fashionistas will be featured about two to three times a month plus a few random fashion thoughts sprinkled throughout. Enjoy! Melena Wednesday, June 6, 2012 Nesly Palacios Monday, April 23, 2012 Quetzal Guerrero Monday, April 16, 2012 Alex Ehecatl Sunday, April 1, 2012 Miss Lydia Sofia Friday, March 30, 2012 Miss Ruby Champagne Thursday, March 22, 2012    Walk in Beauty   Thursday, June 10, 2010 Red Lips and Roses   Friday, April 30, 2010  There's more to come so check back!

Welcome to my new blog feature, Latina Fashionistas! No where can you find a collection of Latina fashion that doesn't involved boobalicious celebrities like Salma, Sofia, or Eva so I decided to enlist my fellow amigas to start this new section. Don't get me wrong, SSE are fabulous and we adore them but I want to look at ladies and gentlemen (Yes, stay tuned for fashionable men too!) who always have their look well-put together. Ruby serves up some Mexican-inspired fashion. Photo by Mr40Chev. These are some of my friends and acquaintances that I think are truly worthy of magazine covers. Their everyday style is fun and fresh, cultural and modern, and they make a statement without saying a word. What shines through the most is their fabulous self-confidence and that's what ultimately makes them stylish fashionistas whether they are wearing name brand shoes from Macy's or plastic bangles from La 99. For my first feature, we start with the gorgeous   Miss Ruby Cham...