Chicana cha cha comes to CSULB

By Maria Vega, On-Line Forty-Niner

Wednesday, October 14, 1998

Even if it is not always helpful, women learn feminine aesthetics from women around them, said Maria Elena Fernandez, a Chicana performance artist.

"We should embrace it but at the same time, we should be critical because these ideas can be oppressive," she said.

Fernandez performed her latest work, "My First Lesson in Becoming a Cha Cha: An Encounter with Torch Singer Virginia Lopez," Tuesday afternoon in LA3-110. Fernandez plays herself as a young child.

The audience of 60 laughed as Fernandez, dressed in a typical lacy Sunday dress every little Latina girl is made to wear, dances to a Virginia Lopez record. Fernandez conveyed the message that as a little girl, she admired Lopez and wanted to be and look just like her - big hair, tight dress, heavy makeup and all.

Following the 15-minute performance, Fernandez said cha cha is a word that was predominately used in the 1980s to describe Latina party girls, easily recognizable by their bold attitudes, lipstick, big hoop earrings, long hair and tight outfits.

"In the 1980s, it was all about hair, lips and hips, and the bigger the better," Fernandez said. "This term came about from the mobile disc jockey scene, which was big in the 1980s."

After further discussion, Fernandez agreed with students in the audience that cha cha really is not a term used anymore in Chicano culture, although most understand what it means.

"The rise in popularity of rock en español has given women an alternative in style than just cha cha or chola," Fernandez said.

She said these styles give women the opportunity to portray more of an ethnic identity than just the stereotypical aesthetics put on Latinas.

However, Fernandez said the cha cha term and style has gone through an evolution in the 1990s.

"Clothes have become cheaper with the rise of discount clothing stores and swap meets, but it doesn't seem right that there should be exploitation in third world countries for us to look good," Fernandez said.

It is very important to document the Chicano culture so others can learn and benefit from the experiences, she said.

"It makes it much more real to understand that there are cultures within a culture," Fernandez said.

She said she feels a contradiction in her own feminist values because she continues to care about her hair, makeup and clothes, while the feminist training she received in college goes against those practices.

"I'm true to myself and take from both sides of values to be me and it may be that there are both contradictions and benefits," Fernandez said.