Thread: Spanglish Shirts Finding Success

Wow, I wonder how popular t-shirts that celebrate American pride and culture would be in, say, Mexico or Guatemala?

'Spanglish' shirts finding success

Elkton woman draws on second-generation experience for designs

By AARON NATHANS, The News Journal

Posted Sunday, August 26, 2007

ELKTON, Md. -- As the daughter of two Spanish-speaking parents growing up in New York, Nathalie Ramirez knows a thing or two about "Spanglish."

Her mother, from Colombia, and her father, from Mexico, met in night school learning English. In her household, there was a blending of the languages -- a sentence that started in Spanish might end in English, and vice versa.

There are a lot of people who can relate to her second-generation experience, she said. People ought to be proud of that background, and wear it proudly, Ramirez said.

Ramirez's company, JusNata Spanglish Designs, offers dozens of original silk-screened T-shirts that blend Spanish and English languages, as well as Latino and American cultures.

For instance, one popular shirt reads, "Cubarican." Another offers a "Definition of a Latina" that begins "Hermosa, Perfecta, Fuerte, Amiga, Loca ...," meaning "Beautiful, Perfect, Strong, Friendly, Crazy ... "

Many shirts, which typically run from $18 to $21, point to ethnic pride: "Chica Columbiana," "Ecuadorian Estrella" (star), and the word "Chicana" over the Mexican flag. In offering shirts that appeal to the wide range of Spanish-speaking nationalities, Ramirez said she found a niche that wasn't being filled.

Her most recent T-shirt puts the word "Chevere," meaning "cool," in a logo that looks like Chevrolet. And, of course, there's "El Bronx."

The growing success of her clothing line is just a reflection of the culture, she said.

"I think it's just exploding everywhere," Ramirez said. "I think a lot of people see a lot of beauty in our traditions, language, music and food."

She started the company in June 2005 and continues to operate it out of her basement in the Elkton home she shares with her husband and children. Today, she sells as many as 150 T-shirts a month, mostly over the company's Web site, www.jusnata.com. The company's company's name combines her name with that of her husband, Justin.

She was trying to do one new design a month. "That got crazy," she said. Now she unveils a new one every couple of months. Ramirez said she took fashion classes in high school and has memories of her grandmother sewing her store-quality clothing. Until she was 12 years old, her grandmother would always make her a dress for her birthday.

She said that has helped her appreciate the value of designing clothing, albeit in a different context. She does some of the designs on her computer, and gets help from a print shop in Glasgow. The shop worked with Ramirez to craft one of her best-selling shirt posits: "Si La Vida Te Dá Limónes, Pide sal y Tequila!" or "If Life Gives You Lemons, Ask for Salt and Tequila!"

Several people were spotted wearing the shirt, and other JusNata shirts, at the Festival Hispano in Millsboro last Sunday, where Ramirez and her husband manned a table. Allison Castellanos, an organizer of the festival, pointed to it as an example of a small local business for which the Hispanic community is proudly showing support.

The Wilmington poet and hip-hop artist Iz PKA The Truth, who asked that his real name be withheld, said he plans to wear his shirt, which he said will read "Viva Peru," at the Wilmington Hispanic Festival next month.

Iz, who was born in Peru, gives Ramirez credit for following her own vision. He said there are a lot of companies that sell Spanish language T-shirts with provocative, sexual messages. But even though such messages sell, he says JusNata promotes a positive, proud message.

He's spotted the T-shirts worn all over, including at the popular Nuyorican Poets Café in New York. He noted the T-shirts will be given out in gift bags at the Latin Grammys next month.

"JusNata is spread out everywhere," he said. "She represents a nice humble pride."

Ramirez was a legal secretary in Manhattan for eight years before moving to Elkton five years ago. She grew up in Queens, then Staten Island.

"In New York, you took it for granted," she said of seeing her heritage all around her. But in Elkton, it isn't as much on display. "Here, you want to stand out."

She helps her products stand out with a robust advertising campaign. She's placed ads in magazines like Latina, New York, Texas Monthly, LaTeen, Jane, and People Magazine Stylewatch issue.

"I hope it continues to grow. I want to continue to keep in touch with the Latin community, get more creative, and bring products they want to see," Ramirez said.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs ... /708260333

I'm sick of hearing about your "culture".

Originally Posted by NoIllegalsAllowed

I'm sick of hearing about your "culture".

I know exactly how your feel!

But of course, I have my own ideas about what are really destructive.

For instance, one popular shirt reads, "Cubarican." Another offers a "Definition of a Latina" that begins "Hermosa, Perfecta, Fuerte, Amiga, Loca ...," meaning "Beautiful, Perfect, Strong, Friendly, Crazy ... "

Crazy sums it up nicely.

Her most recent T-shirt puts the word "Chevere," meaning "cool," in a logo that looks like Chevrolet.

Hmmmmmmmm, I smell a possible lawsuit from some good folks in Detriot.