Pride

I feel very proud of who I am and of my country, with its culture and traditions. However, life doesn't resolve around these feelings. Like that old theory about the Earth as the center of the universe, it's simply impossible 

Yes, as the social animals we are, we want to have friends and belong somewhere; but pride can get very treacherous when over exaggerated, turning a nice person into a mean and disrespectful one.

We live in a city where different cultures, ethnicities and countries mix together to create diversity. For example, in a single day you can order some chilaquiles (crisp fried tortilla strips or triangles topped with spicy tomatillo sauce, sour cream, onions and cheese) at a Mexican restaurant, have falafel for lunch, eat sushi at dinner, have a doughnut and maybe indulge some ice cream. All of that in one day, in the same city! That's really amazing!

You want to have friends and be part of the status quo, but at the same time unique and independent. The best thing to do is find the balance between these two: a middle ground where your heritage meets your open-minded lifestyle, like fusion cuisine or when you wear your Levi's jeans, your converse sneakers, your H&M top and your vintage handbag.

Be proud but also be humble.

Ya casi casi llega la primavera

Tomada de mi cuenta en Instagram @yosoyruz

Blue, pink and yellow

If you have been invited to a baby shower before or if you are organizing one, you might notice that wherever you look, wherever you go, the main categories are: boy, girl and neutral. I don't know about you but I find this very upsetting, there is no imagination, no variety. By the way, all baby showers should always be mixed (women, men)

Girls: cupcakes, crowns, glitter, sparkles, flowers, ladybugs.
Boys: cars, dinosaurs, monsters, tools, ships, fish.
Neutral: turtles, giraffes, ducks, bears.

Everything is so categorized that later on when the kids are older they don't want anything to do with cars if they are girls, and nothing to do with flowers if they are boys, isn't that awful? Both boys and girls should be free to play and relate with more than a couple of things. If we want to change our mindset, to do better in terms of gender equality maybe we can start here. Small choices big changes.

Sometimes I decide to buy in the boys section, I like the colors, the patterns and pictures. I want diversity: monsters and animals without the sparkle or the bows. Is that too much to ask?

Because of this, many people in the street think that my baby is a boy... just because she's wearing something blue! And even worse, they looked at me as if I were a freak of the nature, I can even feel the disapproval and the judgment.

I'm also aware that in the future, when my baby gets older, she might want to wear pink and glittery things, and I'll let her do it. However, if we teach and nurture diversity and equality, maybe our kids will grow up with a better sense of taste: less committed to the big brands, marketing, movies and TV.

There are so many colors, textures, shades, hues, graphics, very capable designers and people in the industry. But for what? So we can have the same options as always?

Let's break the mold.

Let's change paradigms.

Let's shop local.

Let's DIY.

Azul, rosa y amarillo

Si alguna vez los han invitado a un baby shower o ustedes lo están organizando, se darán cuenta que a donde quiera que vayan, las categorías son: niño, niña y neutral, no sé pero a mi me parece terrible la falta de imaginación y variedad. Que por cierto los baby shower siempre deberían ser mixtos.

• Niñas: cup cakes, tiaras, coronas, brillos, flores, catarinas.

• Niños: coches, dinosaurios, montruos, herramientas, barcos, peces.

• Neutro: tortugas, jirafas, patos, nada.

Todo está tan categorizado que con los años las niñas creen que los aviones son cosas de niños y los niños creen que las flores son cosa de niñas, si queremos cambiar la actual mentalidad sobre equidad de genero creo que podríamos empezar por aquí, pequeños cambios que pueden abrir el panorama.

Muchas veces decido comprar en la sección de niños, me gustan más los colores, los gráficos, quiero monstruos, quiero animales, quiero diversidad, esto ha generado que la mayoría de la gente en la calle confunda a mi bebé con un niño ¡tan sólo por llevar algo de azul! 

¡Qué locura!

Y lo peor del caso es que se quedan con cara de whaaat cuando les digo que es niña, a lo que responden: -oh, es que vi su _____ azul y pensé(...), algunas veces también se quedan mirando con un aire de desaprobación.

Estoy consciente que en el futuro, cuando ella crezca querra usar rosa y brillos y lentejuelas, su gusto personal, y la dejaré tomar esas decisiones, sin embargo, creo que si nutrimos la diverisdad y la igualdad puede que nuestros hijos crezcan con un sentido del gusto menos comprometido por la publicidad de la grandes marcas (incluyendo las películas y la televisión).

Tantos colores, tantas texturas, sombras, luces, gráficos, diseñadores muy capaces, para qué, para que al final todo sea lo mismo, porque hasta lo "neutro" es siempre amarillo o verde.

Rompamos esquemas.

Compremos local.

Hagámoslo nosotros mismos o DIY.