Cultural Threads

When Kobe and Vanessa Bryant stepped out for the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Aug. 2, the press immediately focused on the $4 million purple diamond perched on her right hand — a makeup gift, presumably, from her embattled husband. But it was Vanessa's shirt that caught the eye of fashion watchers. Under her wrap sweater, Vanessa wore a simple top with one word boldly printed across the front: LATINA.

Although Vanessa Bryant is Latina, you don't have to be Hispanic to wear phrases such as CHICA, MAMACITA and NO PROBLEMA on your chest these days. Tops, T shirts, hoodies and hats featuring Spanish words or showcasing Latin sports teams are selling briskly to Latinos and non-Latinos alike.

According to Helen Martinez, founder of Chica Inc., a lifestyle fashion brand based in Los Angeles, it was the 2000 Census that convinced fashion execs there was big money to be made marketing to the nearly 39 million Latinos who represent the U.S.'s single largest minority group. This year Chica's sales are projected to reach $2 million — double last year's. Similarly, the Vato line of Latin tops is in "constant reorder mode," according to Carl Dias, the women's buyer for L.A.'s Traffic boutique.

Vanessa Bryant, however, may have had her own motives for flaunting her Latin roots. Cynics point out that Eagle County, Colo., where Kobe Bryant faces a rape charge, is only 0.3% black, but it's 23.2% Hispanic.