From here to there.

Texto en español, aqui.

“At the same time, the European does not come natural to us. We are frustrated human beings. Everyone who learns to read in South America is ashamed of it, of himself, and of his parents. If wealthy and travels through Europe, spends in exuberance and might be driven to vice and luxuries to be let off his background: if a politician, we'll take to a extreme the European practices... We imitate everything and nothing is natural to us. A French would tell me, "But give me South Americanism! It will be a triumph if we presented the South Americanism in Paris...". I replied the South Americanism was Paris , but prostituted.”

—Fernando González—

I've been looking closely at the Latin American edition of Vogue, and have realized that I look at it without enthusiasm. It seems to me less than its sisters the European and the North Americans (even the Asians). Fernando Gonzales, surely would've said that it is a manifestation of our "Son of a bitch*" complex. I think that such complex is not foreign to the publication.

Likewise, the vision of fashion from Latin America appears frequently in the conversation in discussion groups in this side of the Western hemisphere where we live, dream, and work. We talk about what would be the right approach to the development of our industry within our deep-rooted intentions that we have to conquer or being recognized by the old world.

At the end, from the industrial to the editorial, I always arrived at the same conclusion: we can not uproot our processes in pursuit of the Americans and Europeans. It is an utopia to think this way or to think that with our resources we can achieve it. I am not saying let's throw in the towel; my point is that it can be done, it is not only a matter of recognizing strengths and weaknesses, but also of thinking out of the box, taking samples of what works in other areas to use as guides.

Evidently we have a lot to show, not only our talent but also our resourcefulness. In photography for instance, is amazing how much we can achieve on the editorial and commercial field with just one fraction of the budget that the big editorials and brands use.

Returning to the example of Latin American Vogue, I'd like to share the conclusion I arrived at: "I believe that the focus of this magazine, as the leader of our region, and many others that follow behind- is wrong." Having great American and European magazines, ours are doomed to be just followers. There is a saying in the marketing field that when a niche is saturated, we need to find a new one. Right now in the eyes of the Europeans, Asians , and even ours, Latin America has become the focus of inspiration, aside from being a growing universe of consumers.

Therefore, I think that some of the magazine leaders should focus more in our issues than in the European and the American fashion, that are now at our fingertips in portals and magazine stands, where I can find first hand the newest issues of the world's leaders in the industry.

Now we have the need to show what's happening here, in this corner of the world. Magazines like Latin American Vogue instead of taking a Mexican point of view approach for the rest of the continent, they should present the true information of what's happening in the region to us and the rest of the world.

A magazine that shows Latin America in Europe, is a nonsense way to show what we do.

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* "Son of a bitch is is the one who is ashamed of his own. I've been called rude for using this expression, but the thing is that my fellow citizens are like the black king who was angry because he didn't look white in his portrait."

Los negroides (Ensayo sobre La Gran Colombia) - Fernando González, 1936.

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