Wouldn’t it be great if as children we were all encouraged to embrace, celebrate and be proud of the things that make us different from everyone else? The answer is YES in capital letters. If you have any doubt all you have to do is watch the new video for the Bomba Estéreo love-thyself anthem “Soy Yo,” starring an unabashedly confident little girl who handles the judgmental looks coming at her by exuberantly rocking her uniqueness all up and down the streets of New York. She plays music, plays ball and dances while everyone who witnesses is like, “Well, OK then, let me just step off.”
And although the lyrics to the Colombian band's song are in Spanish, the video's visual story ensures you won't miss a beat. The video is being hailed by many as a celebration of brown girls and it most definitely is because let’s be honest how often do we get to see unconventionally wonderful brown girls as heroines? Not very often at all.
As the very proud mother of two brown girls I’m loving the video and will be playing it for my daughters and discussing its significance with them, but I think it’s important to note that this video is not just a celebration of brown girls. It’s a celebration of uniqueness.
"The video concept was perfect for a song that touches on bullying and intolerance, issues that worry all of us. The way the story in the clip handles those issues is very different and it gives our song a whole new meaning," Li Saumet lead singer of Bomba Estéreo told Billboard.
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I love the idea of showing this video to all children and then talking about what it means. Sure you would use it as a lesson to teach children that bullying is wrong, but what I love the most about it is that it is an open invitation to embrace yourself in your entirety.
Kids start off being perfectly cool with who they are regardless of what’s in fashion or considered the norm, but then we start taking that away from them—and I mean “we” as in all of us; parents, society, the media, you name it.
I say we can all learn something about being comfortable in our own skin from the little girl in this video.
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Now sit back—or stand so you can dance—press play, and prepare to fall in love (with yourself, even).
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/bxWxXncl53U
