15 Iconic Latinas You Can Dress Up As For Halloween
Halloween is coming up soon — do you know what, or who, you’re going to be dressed up as? Sometimes, picking out a costume you haven’t tried before can be like a daunting task
Photo: Flickr/hellboy_93
Halloween is coming up soon — do you know what, or who, you’re going to be dressed up as? Sometimes, picking out a costume you haven’t tried before can be like a daunting task. But fear not! Since we love reppin’ Latinidad, all day, every day, you know we already have some great ideas for costumes celebrating Latinx icons. This way, you have both a cool and innovative Halloween costume, plus an opportunity to share our icons and legends with the world and with pride.
Each costume is relatively easy to put together, but we will make suggestions here and there to make dressing up like Lola Falana, or Ellen Ochoa a breeze. Added bonus? Since these are actual people and not fictional characters, you’ll have many more options for what looks to recreate for each. Have fun choosing your fave moment and embodying some of our very best examples of Latinx excellence!
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Selena
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpdDKEQhHC8/
You know we can’t do a Latinx costume story without including the legendary Queen of Cumbia and Tejano, Selena Quintanilla-Perez. What items make up her iconic looks? Purple, green, or blue jumpsuits, bedazzled bustiers with high-waisted pants, sparkling belts, and boots, white button-down shirts tied at the front with jeans, red lips, hoop earrings or other statement earrings, half ponytails, bangs, and a happy attitude!
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Lola Falana
Known as the First Lady of Las Vegas, Afro-Cubana Lola Falana has always been larger than life. She is a major talent, major beauty, and has always blessed us with her majorly sparkling ensembles. If you want to dress up as this iconic singer for Halloween, her amazing Las Vegas outfits from the 1960s to the ’70s (think crystal-encrusted bodysuits, feathers, glam) are a great option.
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Ellen Ochoa
Not all Latinx Halloween costumes are of entertainers. There are also so many other successful Latinas to pay homage to! Take Chicana astronaut Ellen Ochoa, for example. She was the first Latina/Hispanic woman to go into space, the first Latina/Hispanic director of Johnson Space Center, and its second female director. You can dress up as her for Halloween using some of the NASA-themed gear we spotted at the Spirit Halloween. Don’t forget a name tag so that everyone knows exactly who you are!
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Sonia Sotomayor
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3k-VZEgD07/
Another Latinx who has a major first under her belt is Nuyorican Sonia Sotomayor. She is the first Latina and Hispanic to serve as a Supreme Court Justice and a fun choice for Halloween costume. You can get a black graduation robe to serve as a judge’s robe, get a gavel, and add a name tag to show who you are! You can also add a white lace jabot and glasses for an even more specific look.
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Amara La Negra
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3AjLD7jPmK/
Amara La Negra made a splash when she appeared on Love & Hip Hop: Miami, showing off her singing and dancing skills, mega sense of self-love and confidence, and sexy glam persona. The Afro-Dominicana is all about big, beautiful afros, skin-tight colorful outfits, and an unapologetic attitude, which makes for a super fun, super fierce Halloween outfit idea!
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Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is a huge icon and an inspiration, whose aesthetic is revered, and duplicated on the regular. So, it’s no surprise that many opt to be the legendary Mexican artist for Halloween. Her crown of flowers and ribbons, unibrow, colorful Indigenous folk fashions, red lips, and bold jewelry are elements relatively easy to recreate, for a look instantly recognizable to most people.
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Rita Moreno
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Fjb2CBB1U/
Iconic Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno is the first Latina/Hispanic, and the third person ever, to achieve PEGOT (Peabody Award, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status — which is a huge deal. Add to that a boss attitude and great style, and you can see how one would want to dress up as her for Halloween. While you can recreate her West Side Story look, we think it’s even cooler to dress up in her “I just won an Oscar” gown. Don’t forget the statue!
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Dolores Huerta
If you want an easy to copy Halloween outfit, that honors a Latinx hero, and has so much meaning behind it, this costume is for you. You would be recreating Dolores Huerta’s September 24, 1965 look —sweatshirt and jeans, with “Huelga” sign — to commemorate when she and Cesar Chavez stood up for what is right and became part of the Delano grape strike (joining our Filipino brothers and sisters in the fight).
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Cardi B
Cardi is like a living cartoon — over the top, in your face, bold and super entertaining. She basically makes for an equally fun Halloween costume. Choose from any of her recent style looks, which will more often than not also include a coordinating wig, accessories, and makeup, all meant to help you stand out. Don’t forget your “I don’t give AF” mood!
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Jennifer Lopez
https://www.instagram.com/p/BphV_5_FnSz/
Jennifer Lopez is such a huge Latinx star and has had so many epic style looks, that it is such a fun and relatively easy idea to dress up as her for Halloween (I did a pink version of her “Jenny From the Block” look one year!). You can recreate her green Versace Grammys moment, her all-white VMAs look, or wear a comfy, pink, velour track short suit like J.Lo did in the “I’m Real (Remix)” video — there are so many options!
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Raquel Welch
Boliviana Raquel Welch is an iconic actress who blew up in the 1960s. Some of her looks in film then (for which she is known) had a boho-chic meets sexy aesthetic, one that has been copied ever since. If you want to recreate this overall look for Halloween, think voluminous hair, smoky eyes with a dramatic liner, nude lips, and bohemian clothing that still shows off the curves.
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Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3VX202gOP7/
Superhero Wonder Woman is always a popular option for Halloween and what better version of the costume to wear than the OG one worn by Chicana actress Lynda Carter in the TV show (from 1975 to 1979)? You can find this costume at most Halloween costume stores online or you can try making it yourself! Don’t forget the two cuff bracelets and the Lasso of Truth!
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Celia Cruz
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpn2e9xAntQ/
Body-con Cuban rumba dresses or dramatic caftans. Wigs in all sorts of fun colors and bold styles. Being able to yell out “azucar!” whenever you want. There are so many reasons why you’d want to dress up as the Afro-Cubana Reina de la Salsa Celia Cruz!
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Rosie Perez
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwIjb0QlKJE/
Speaking of costumes allowing you to do what you want, why not wear a Halloween outfit that will basically require that you know how to bust a move and do it often? Dressing up as Rosie Perez during the 1980s, when she danced on the TV show Soul Train, would be so cool. Not only are the styles on point, but you get to also recreate that fierce dancing! Don’t forget that big ’80s hair!
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Carmen Miranda
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba4vEGmgB2h/
Dressing up as the Brazilian Bombshell, actress and singer Carmen Miranda is the epitome of vibrant and fun. There are different looks you can go for, but the most recognizable features fruit piled on top of the head, tons of accessories, a cropped top with bold sleeves, a long skirt, and pops of color everywhere.
