How Gente Fina Is Amplifying the Fabric of the Latinx Culture Through Distinctive Apparel
What is the definition of Gente Fina? According to Manny Cabrera and Abraham Cortez, Latinos are the definition of Gente Fina. Mexicanos are the definition of Gente Fina. And the brand they created in September of 2018 is a representation of what makes Latinos Gente Fina. Especially Latinos from the Windy City…Chicago.
Gente Fina first caught my attention as I was scrolling through Instagram and saw Jacqueline Priego, writer of the YouTube series Pink Slipped, rocking a dope bomber that read “Till Chicago Ends” on the back. As I scrolled through their IG images, I discovered this brand was created by two Chicago Latinos of Mexican descent. What makes their brand different is that not only do you see the love for their culture in the products, but also the love they have for their city of Xicago. That’s right: X-I-C-A-G-O not C-H-I-C-A-G-O.
They have t-shirts and hoodies that rock the X (pronounced Sh) from the Nahuatl language of the Aztec empire. They also have Viento City distressed hats, Virgencita tees, and LSD tees. LSD, the acronym for Lake Shore Drive, the expressway that runs alongside Lake Michigan in Chicago.
I met the creative duo at their shop, which is at an undisclosed location in Logan Square, which is accessible by appointment only. They had recently finished setting it up, and I was their first customer. As I looked through the merchandise, I read the clothing tag:
It’s fitted for the community.
Interwoven with the fabric of our culture.
We are proud to be where we are from.
We are imitated by most but surpassed by none.
I sat down with Cabrera and Cortez to find out more about them and the dope brand they created.
Why a clothing line?
Cortez: We’re both fashionistas, we’re both into our culture, and you don’t see anything to rock that’s both about our culture and Chicago.
Cabrera: There’s a lot of designers in the city, but not many Latino designers. We’ve always both been creative, so we went with it, and we said let’s make it happen.
Cortez: Thinking about it now, this shit started when we were born, everything that has happened to us since ‘88 and ‘89, being creative, being self-sustaining, all that has made Gente Fina.
Did Trump’s rhetoric about Latinos, specifically Mexicans, have anything to do with why you named your brand Gente Fina?
Cortez: It helped shape the name. The name was a defiance of what he had said about Latinos, and Mexicans, and claiming that we were all rapists and murderers, and it’s like, ‘nah we are fine people, we’re great, we are Gente Fina. We already had that name in mind, and that [Trump’s comments] solidified that we should name the brand that.
When people see your clothing line, what is that you want people to see or feel?
Cabrera: We want people to feel connected to our line. Sometimes we’re just sitting around talking and I’ll say, man, it feels great to be Mexican. There are so many of us here in Chicago. There are so many things that we can all relate to. It’s like when you see t-shirts with a pan or concha on it. We all know what that is. So we are trying to do the same thing with our brand, but more urban and street. We are incorporating everything we grew up seeing. Being Mexican alone gives us so much to work with, and then bringing Chicago into the mix takes it to another level.
Being first-generation Mexican-Americans, how do your parents feel about Gente Fina?
Cabrera: Sometimes they ask, how did you come up with this? They kinda get surprised. Like the Virgin Mary, my mom loves that stuff, she's very religious. And we all grew up seeing that image, and they feel like a part of the brand. Before, my parents were kind of under the radar, not making too much noise, and now that they’re seeing people wearing our t-shirts and jackets, they feel like they’re expressing who they are through us. It’s cool to see them get excited. They feel like we’re representing them, so they are supportive of what we’re doing because we are showing that we care about who we are, our culture, and our families.
What do you see in the future for Gente Fina?
Cortez: We’ve been talking about this a lot. We want to take Gente Fina global. Latinos are everywhere. We went to Europe about a month ago, and there were people there from Peru, Colombia. Eventually, we want to set up shop in places like Mexico City. We want our brand to represent Latinos all over the world.
Cabrera: Finding the right manufacturers in Latin American countries. We would love to work with only Latino companies. Also, another big thing we are talking about is being eco-friendly. A long-term goal is to eventually have our own warehouse space where we can bring in recycled materials and create our own products. But for right now we’re trying to take over the city, and then move on to the next one.
As your brand grows, will you expand your products to represent other cities?
Cortez: That’s a great question. I mean overall, I think the bigger umbrella is the Latinidad aspect of it I think when we start to move more globally it’ll be about Latinidad. Then incorporate everything from our city influence and the influence of whatever city we go to next.
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Cynthia Chavarria is a writer who works at Getty Images in Chicago for the Latin American region. She also serves on Getty Images' Diversity and Inclusion Global Advisory Committee. Cynthia is passionate about staying socially aware, supporting her community, and giving back.