American Girl Is Re-Releasing Josefina Montoya and Their Other Historical Dolls For Their 35th Anniversary
Courtesy American Girl
If you’re a ’90s girl, chances are you begged your parents for an American Girl doll at some point (especially Josefina!). After all, American Girl dolls were the epitome of sophistication–trendy, cute, and above all, expensive. Well, if you’re nostalgic for the American Girls dolls of yore, you’re in luck.
On Tuesday, American Girl announced that they’re bringing the six original historical dolls out of retirement for the company’s 35th anniversary.
If you need a refresher on the six original dolls were Kirsten, Samantha, Molly, Felicity, Addy, and, of course, Josefina. American Girl created these characters to educate their young audience on little-known American history in an accessible way.
Josefina Montoya was the sole Latina doll out of the entire historical doll collection.
American Girl described her character as a “Hispanic girl whose heart and hopes are as big as the New Mexico sky.” Like every other doll, her character was also featured in a series of books that described the early days of the American Southwest (1824-1826, to be exact).
The book series’ author, Valerie Tripp, also did extensive research on 19th century life in Santa Fe de Nuevo México. Tripp visited la Hacienda de los Martínez in Taos and interviewed elderly New Mexican women who grew up in rural New Mexico.
American Girl went to great pains to ensure that Josefina Montoya’s features, accessories, and accompanying stories were historically accurate.
Per American Girl, Josefina was “developed with the guidance of an advisory board made up of historians, educators, curators, and other professionals deeply knowledgeable about the history and cultures of the American Southwest.”
The doll company also claims that the advisory board decided “what Josefina’s features, skin tone, and hair would look like.”
The 35th Anniversary edition of Josefina Montoya looks like it might give the original version a run for its money.
The 35th edition Josefina doll will include a bevy of accessories. She’ll come with a rebozo, a “white camisa with short puffed sleeves edged with lace” and a faux jola coin in an envelope.
Based on the Twitter reaction, ’90s babies can’t wait to get their hands on these dolls again. Many Latinas loved the Josefina doll. Josefina was the first time many had ever owned or played with a doll that was made specifically in their image.
But this time, we won’t have to rely on our parents to shell out their hard-earned cash for them.
