December is a challenging time. Whether we are separated from our loved ones due to loss, familial estrangement, or borders or we celebrate the season with loved ones who make hurtful comments about our bodies and personal lives, this season isn’t always cheerful and jolly. This is why Somos kicked off las navidades on December 12, 2022 with a Holiday Cena sponsored by Neutrogena that allowed us to celebrate with our chosen family — you.
At Somos, we work to preserve the aspects of our cultures that serve us and retire the ones that don’t. So this holiday season, we welcomed our chosen familia into our Brooklyn sala to enjoy delicious traditional eats, like shrimp ceviche, pernil bites, arroz con gandules, and vegan pastelón, as well as rich drinks, like coquito and margaritas, by Teresa Ramos of Pretty and Plated. Somos had the aux, so we were dancing to classics from Hector Lavoe and Joe Arroyo to new bops from El Conejo Malo and Ice Spice.
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Joined by 30 Latina influencers, creatives, and audience members, our sala was a space free from pestering, heteronormative questions like “¿y el novio?” and fatphobic remarks like “te ves mas gordita.” It was free from homophobia, anti-Blackness, and misogyny. It was what home should feel like: fun, affirming, cozy, and nourishing.
In fact, nourishment was the talk of the evening. Somos Deputy Director Raquel Reichard gave a toast that encouraged guests to nourish themselves — including their mind, body, and spirit — and their communities throughout the night and into the new year. Then Neutrogena dermatologist Dr. Mara Weinstein Velez, MD, FAAD joined in and offered tips on how they could nourish their skin with a skincare routine.
Later in the evening, the beloved skincare brand gifted all the girlies at the party a regalito: a bag filled with items they can use to build their skincare routines, including its Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel, Hydro Boost+ Niacinamide Serum, Hydro Boost Gel Cream, Hydro Boost+ Caffeine Eye Cream, and Acne Blemish Patches. Even more, Neutrogena added in a pair of surprise earrings from the Latina-owned shop Azul Azul Designs.
Amid chatter, laughter, and dancing, guests like Ashley Masse and Barbie Brignoni took photos at our Somos-Neutrogena photo installation, while attendees like Bembona and Jessica Torres wrote notitas de amor to the Somos team.
We want to make the Holiday Cena a new tradition our community will want to preserve, and we hope you can join us next time. Until then, ¡felicidades, amiguis! Be sure to nourish yourself and your chosen family hoy y mañana.