Chilean in NYC: "I couldn't miss the opportunity to buy my daughter a doll almost, almost like her" - El Mostrador

Yesterday I went out on a mission. Late, but I went out. The weather has been extremely freezing, but I had to do something very important: find the famous Luciana Vega. The 2018 American Girls Girl (Doll) of the Year. Why was it so important to me? I tell you.

American Girls are the most coveted dolls for little girls in America, and not so little girls too. It is common to see girls with their moms and dads on 5th Avenue walking with the gigantic red bags that those dolls carry. It is a must for tourists who come to New York with their daughters. I have always heard from friends and acquaintances who say that they always wanted one, but that they were unattainable due to the high price, so they only went to buy the clothes or some accessory. The wealthiest collect them. Every year they release a new doll, totally different from the previous year, reflecting some historical era, or ethnicity, or, for example, occupations, ranging from dancer to scientist.

The fun thing about the dolls is that they create a story to mark them. A biracial doll debuted in 2006, following her archaeologist parents to Belize. There is another who is a poet who struggles with her stutter. This year it was the turn of Luciana Vega, a doll whose story takes place in San Antonio, Texas. She is a girl daughter of Chilean immigrants. They are entertaining stories, with many details, which are told in the books that accompany the dolls. Far, much more entertaining than Barbie, and excuse me for Barbie if I find her half dumb.

So, I had to go find that doll. How could she pass up the opportunity to show my daughter that she is not alone in this world? That there is a doll almost, almost like her, with a story very similar to hers? A girl who is half Chilean, half gringuita, with all that that means, with all her family far away, but hey, it is what it is. There is no need to complain either that it is not so bad.

As soon as I told a friend, Rucio, we ran to the American Girls store to go look for her. We arrived right at 7 and found the doors locked. We made a pitying face at the guard and he only let us through if we knew what we wanted and we weren't going to stand around looking at everything. We promised her that yes, we knew what we wanted with a first and last name, so we quickly went looking for the famous Luciana.

She is very pretty, tan, with dark brown hair. A coquettish purple lock caught my attention, a half space dress and silver boots. I remembered my younger years. I also had silver boots. Is Luciana my mini doppelganger?

I found the wrist wave entertaining. I imagined her to be a rocker, a fan of Fiath no More and Mike Patón. With that look it can't be reggaetonera. No. Reading the book that Luciana brings, I found out that her mother likes to make meringue cakes with lucuma and that her grandmother is in Chile. Of course, Luciana likes astronomy. And obviously, they sell a mini telescope for you to observe the stars.

Apart from the doll and the telescope, we took a blue NASA suit to change her clothes. As well as a jumpsuit for her Space Camp, which she refers to in the book. They sell the astronaut suit too, but to agree to buy it, you have to become a member of the American Girls Club. Otherwise, they don't sell it. It was very nice and besides, becoming a member was free, so we signed up immediately.

My friend and I were so excited, thinking my daughter was going to love it (and yes, my daughter is crazy about the doll), until we came to pay. There the cashier lowered us from the cloud in which we were floating when he gave us the total: 280 dollars, about 170 thousand Chilean pesos. On a doll, a blue jumpsuit, an astronaut suit and a doll telescope that, in her defense, works as a mini projector and brings a toy iPhone so that Luciana can text with her friends while she sees the stars, and a blanket for the doll to lie down comfortably while looking at infinity. With that we consoled ourselves, and with a few drinks that we had after shopping to pass the pain of having spent so much money on a little doll. At least it wasn't the Anabelle. Wait.