In the upcoming Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie (Margot Robbie) will have to choose between her picture-perfect life or know what life is like in the real world — one that is less … pink.
For those of us that live in said real world, we’ve been transported to Barbie’s universe thanks to the upcoming film, out in theaters July 21, and soundtracked by songs from Karol G (“WATITI” ft. Aldo Ranks), Dua Lipa (“Dance the Night”), Billie Eilish (“What Was I Made For?”) and Sam Smith (“Man I Am”), among others.
About her music video for “WATITI,” Karol G shared on social media: “The scene of me in the green dress reminds me of when I was little and my mom didn’t let take the Barbies out of the box to play, because I wanted to cut their hair and change their look immediately. It’s been a dream to be part of this project.”
In honor of the new Barbie movie, Billboard asked a handful of Latin artists to share their favorite Barbie childhood memory. “For my birthday and special occasions my friends and family would give me Barbies,” GALE says. “I would always place the Barbies in my room but I was too afraid to open the boxes because they were too perfect. Sometimes I would give my Barbies to my cousins so they could do the damage and open them up to play.”
Below, GALE, Ludmilla, Kenia Os and more Latin artists share their favorite Barbie memory, in their own words.
Growing up, there were always Barbies around to play with my cousins and friends. For my birthday and special occasions, my friends and family would give me Barbies. I would always place the Barbies in my room but I was too afraid to open the boxes because they were too perfect. Sometimes I would give my Barbies to my cousins so they could do the damage and open them up to play.
What I most remember about my Barbie era is that I was a little girl that really took care of every little thing. I remember I had the pans, forks, all the little utensils that came with the Barbies, and I would really take care of them. My mom would let me play with my Barbies after doing my homework and I would always get home late from school because I went to school in the afternoon so I’d have little time with my Barbies. But when I was officially on vacation from school, I would play with my Barbies all day long.
I’ve always loved Barbie! I used to have a few toys and dolls and play with them when I was little. My top Christmas gift list was a Barbie when I knew we could afford something better. The thing is I still love her. I even have a necklace with her on it. I feel like a Barbie myself!
My favorite memory with Barbies is getting to change their clothes. I’m very fashionista, I love fashion, so I Ioved to change their outfits, do a little mix and match. If I could, I’d play 24 hours a day with my Barbies — but I would spend like eight hours a day changing their clothes and producing fashion shows.
My favorite toys when I was little were my Barbies. It’s so cool that there’s a new movie, which I’m obviously going to watch. I probably had a collection of about 80 Barbies growing up and I would never take off their shoes, change the clothes, they were intact in their little boxes … until my little sister was born. She ended my Barbies.