Farsighted Fly Girl

You may have heard of this movie, Avatar.  As one of the most expensive movies ever made, this sci -fi epic has captured a global audience, broken box office records and is climbing towards the the title of highest grossing movie of all time. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. In fact, I was insulted by the tired and one-dimensional, "noble savages get saved by white man gone native" storyline.  It's been much noted in many reviews that Avatar is basically "Dances With Wolves" on another planet and I agree. So I won't go into the many racial and cultural issues that the movie has stirred up except to observe that African culture is on major display in Avatar. The Na'vi, 10 feet tall,  blue people of Pandora, exhbit African  traditions and cultural adornments on many levels. Neytiri, the warrior princess played by Zoe Saldana, rocks braids adorned with beads in the same fashion that African women have worn for centuries. Moat, the Na'vi spiri...

You can't explore Dominican culture without mentioning the island's influence on fashion. In an industry that's rigidly European-centered, the Dominican Republic has managed to make a strong enough impact to be dubbed "the next Brazil." Brazil has been supplying the industry with a bevy of supermodels lead by Giselle Bundchen, for the last ten years. All the Brazilian beauties display the requisite pale skin, flowing hair and Anglo features but the Dominicans are adding much needed visibility for models of color. Sesilee Lopez, featured above with Tyra Banks, has been splashed all over Italian Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle and American Vogue for the last two years. Known for her pout and sassy Dominicana attitude, she's just signed a Calvin Klein fragrance contract and has been listed as a top model to watch by industry insiders. Arlenis Sosa was discovered on the streets of Santo Domingo a few years ago and has quickly blazed a fierce fashion trail that in...