VivirLatino

Mala's Shopping Bag : A Little Poco Bit of Latino Cuteness

10:45 H | Topics: Entrepreneurs - Shopping

White hipsters don't have the edge on edgy baby clothes anymore. Enter Little Poco, started by a Nuyorican mami who was expecting twins and looking for something beyond the usual to dress her babies in. Roachele Negron, the mama beyond the label said in an email to VivirLatino:

A couple of summer ago the fashion in the streets was to rock images of Scarface. No one cared/remembered that their beloved kingpin hero dies in the end. Blazed with bullets, alone. This bothered me. Yes, I love the movie. Yes, I have seen it 15+ times, can speak along with most scenes. But to see it rocked? To see kids really celebrating, the devastating end that in reality also comes to many uncles, brothers and friends, didn't sit right with me. I doubt the tshirts and nikes with Tony's distraught face was inspiration to go and looked up the Mariel boat lift

Several years back further, anything with Che was all the rage. But when asked, rarely could anyone tell me what he did and stood for. Forget about where he was from or how he died.
Walk down the streets of el barrio, ask a 13 year old who the young lords were. Most likely you'll get a blank stare. Walk across town to Harlem and ask who the black panthers were, you'll see some recognition but it the details will be hazy.
It bothers my soul to think about the abridged history that is being taught in our schools. Thankfully the internet is starting to shape up as salvation to combat the growing complacency of our youth. At their finger tips is the uplifting movements of people who believed in themselves and by remembering their past sought to better their future. By choosing images that are unfamiliar to most, I am helping to inspire questions. Littlepoco is not making a political statement, we are helping mi gente to seek out buried information. The images I choose are ones that have always moved me and lead me to ask my own questions. For me it is less about political beliefs and more about honoring the determination of our people to strive for better.
I like the idea that these images are worn by our children. I like to imagine that when the aw in a toddlers eyes is combined with these powerful images, anyone can be jump started to seek more knowledge.

For Roachele, including images of the Young Lords Party on onesies for babies is not merely about making a political statement as to her personal politics, rather, as stated on her website:

It’s not politics; it’s recognizing that, as a people,
we have always created movements to fight for our beliefs.
In saluting our strength and courage Littlepoco hopes to encourage
our youth to look further than their text books for nuestra historia.

Teach 'em young by buying your baby a little poco of something from Little Poco.

If you're in the NYC area, you can pick up Little Poco baby gear at Habana Outpost in Brooklyn on weekends, 757 Fulton Street. If not you can purchase online at Little Poco.com.

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