If you were a kid or teen in the late ’90s, early 2000s, chances are you watched or have at least heard of MTV’s Daria. The adult, animated sitcom resonated with so many of us fellow moody, cynical, and pessimistic teenagers — God, I’m so grateful to be a happy and bubbly adult now. But even though most of the characters on the show were white, every Latina I know today admits to relating to Daria back in the day in some way, shape, or form. And, of course, Dominican artist and designer Tony Peralta gets that because he recently revealed his latest masterpiece which is an illustration of Daria Con Rollos — genius!
I want to downplay this but the truth is I got HYPED when I saw Peralta’s Daria Con Rolos print on my IG feed. Daria Con Rolos was essentially me — and a lot of the Latinas I knew during my youth. She was going to the Dominican salon on the weekends getting her wash and sets and sitting under the secadora in preparation for a night out with friends, she was wearing big-hooped gold earrings, and she had resting bitch face for days as she tried to figure out who she was while navigating the annoying teenage years she wished she could just fast-forward or avoid. She seemed unbothered but she was actually quite often bothered, annoyed, and impatient when it came to a lot of things. She was smart, rebellious, and above most of the bullshit. And every real-life Latina Daria I knew growing up is pretty much killing it nowadays.
Peralta nailed this illustration. Oh and please peep the pin she’s wearing that reads: Coño!
We hustled and bustled and still have our moments where we throw the shade or roll our eyes to the nonsense that is life sometimes, the difference now is that we’re a lot more humbled by life experiences and a lot more optimistic about things. We learned that good vibes aren’t just some hippy-dippy talk, it triggers good things to actually happen in our lives. In fact, in my mind, real-life Latina Daria today would be proudly rocking her natural pajon, working at her dream job or running her own business, meditating 20 minutes a day, cleansing her apartment with palo santo or sage, and laughing at how hella cynical she was in her teens. Despite her much more positive attitude these days — don’t get it twisted — she’s still not afraid to check someone when they need to be checked. Let’s just be clear.
Daria Con Rollos is a tribute to my youth and boy am I hoping that Peralta decides to turn this dope print into a T-shirt! That is all.
