Dolls of the World Mexican Barbie 1988/ 1989

I’ve finally managed to complete the transition to Blogger. It’s taken me a while, but to my astonishment there had been quite a number of entries to be moved and this had to be done manually. Anyway, I’d prepared this entry several weeks ago and now I can publish it at last, so here it is.

Ever since I was so unlucky with the marvelous Peaches’n Cream AA Barbie doll that somebody just literally snatched right before me, I’ve been looking for a doll with the Spanish 1982 headmold. Unfortunately, my favorites are quite popular amongst Barbie collectors so they appear but rarely and always at an impossible price. So I took a break and focused on Teresa headmold instead. There were two Teresa 1990 faced dolls that stole my heart and both belonged to the wonderful Dolls of the World series. These were the Italian Barbie 1992 and the Mexican Barbie 1995. The Italian Barbie won but the Mexican one was still somewhere at the back of my head giving me no peace whatsoever. I’ve already been working on getting my hands on her but in the meantime whenever I was googling her pictures, the first edition from 1988/1989 just popped up and mesmerized me to the point that I almost abandoned the idea of getting the Teresa Mexican Barbie in place of her.  Amids my confusion which doll to get, one of my Polish readers came to my rescue and sent me the link to some interesting auctions. There she was, my ideal Spanish faced doll, beautiful and perfect, but not in her clothes. These were on another doll several auctions below to my great joy!

Some time ago I mentioned that Mattel appears to like Italy a great deal so Barbie returns to that country every several years, but Mexico seems to be their favorite destination. There have been so many representatives of that country that when doing my research I felt completely lost! And they’re beautiful! Since they all deserve proper attention, I’ve divided them into two groups – the early releases and the contemporary ones and I’ll focus on the first category today. My Mexican Barbie 1988/89 (I have no box so I’m not sure) is the very first one to introduce that country. In 1992 Barbie visited Mexico again as Fantastica Barbie and in 1993 as Festiva Barbie. And then she appeared under the name of the Dolls of the World Mexican Barbie 1995. In the meantime there was another Mexican girl called the Quinceanera Teresa 1994 that was supposed to refer to an important event in the life of a Mexican teenager- the 15^th birthday celebration. All of these dolls bear the Teresa 1990 headmold with the exception of the very first one.  

source: https://barbie.mattel.com/shop/en-us/ba/barbie-dolls-of-the-world-north-america/mexican-barbie-doll-1st-edition-1917

source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/66211003@N04/6029602922/in/photostream/

source: http://barbiecollectors.altervista.org/90s/1993.html

                                                source:https://pl.pinterest.com/pin/439382507386845810/?lp=true

source: https://www.amazon.com/Mattel-Mexican-Barbie/dp/B000P0ZOPQ

As far as my Mexican Barbie is concerned, she was manufactured on the basis of the Spanish 1982 headmold that was meant to introduce some ethnic variety to Barbie Universe. It’s incredibly versatile. Spanish 1982 is sometimes called Hispanic and it became a face of Teresa, Christie and of course Dee Dee, however the very first doll to come with this headmold was the Spanish Barbie 1982. Let’s not forget about some stunning AA Barbies like Peaches’n Cream AA, Crystal Barbie AA, Jewel Secrets AA and my absolute favorites – the Magic Moves AA and both Twirly Curls. Spanish 1982 gets as much criticism for her nose as Teresa 1990 for her jaw but personally, I’m very fond of that nose. I’m well-endowed in that area myself so a “nosy” doll such as this would of course win my favor. What do I like about my Mexican girl? Just about everything – her cinnamon colored complexion, her hazel eyes, her green makeup, her full coral lips, you name it. Her skin tone resembles my Moroccan Barbie, but the hue has a little more warmth to it.

 

 

 

Mexican Barbie has kanekalon hair and when I unwrapped her, the hair just exploded in my face with all its wildness and it’s never been brushed. The curls were still there but imagine not brushing your hair for 30 or so years, what would you look like? She needed some help. I washed the glorious hair and conditioned it and while it was still moist, I combed it. I used the kind of comb that has some large spaces between the teeth so the curls grouped nicely. I was thinking about using diluted gel as per A Thousand Splendid Dolls advice, but I had none, I might do that in the future though. As I studied the doll carefully I noticed her twist and turn waist didn’t twist anymore. I was unwilling to give her gymnastics class for fear of breaking her so she’ll remain stiff as she is. Her knees also bend one step further than the regular late 80s- early 90s would. The shape of her toes would suggest otherwise, but I’m still learning about these dolls. 

My Mexican girl arrived dressed in a strange outfit that was made of a kitchen glove. There were two different patterns on the both sides of the skirt part and the sponge was already trying to break free.  I give its creator points for creativity, but I got rid of the interesting gown and put her in her own outfit, a very beautiful one! It consists of a white dress with lace trimming and some flower decal on the blouse part. The decal flakes a bit in some places, but we must make allowances for its age. The red skirt is a separate piece and it looks like the doll has a lovely with petticoat underneath. I was surprised to discover the low cut in the back of the outfit. Normally you don’t see it because the doll’s bushy hair covers it completely, but it’s a nice detail indeed.

 

Mexican Barbie has lost most of her accessories, but the most important ones are still there. The doll wouldn’t have been complete without her head piece that’s meticulously made of some very beautiful lace. The rainbow ribbon at the doll’s waist is a nice touch too but what surprised me the most was the presence of her jewelry – the earrings and the ring. The necklace got lost unfortunately, but I dug out some beads and made a new one. Unfortunately the blue comb that was stuck in her hair was missing as well and so were her shoes. The doll arrived with a pair of blue heels but they didn’t seem right so I gave her a pair of yellow ballerina shoes from my own stock. She needs something comfortable to be able to get lost in her passionate dance.

I’m so happy to have added two new headmolds to my collection and it seems to me that everytime I crave for some variety in that respect, I find it in the wonderful Dolls of the World. So far I’ve collected 8 of them, counting the ones that are currently on their way, and I’m already making plans for future acquisition. In the meantime, as I was putting her back on her shelf a certain thought came to my mind. Which of them is really my favorite? I can’t tell. But imagine my house was on fire and I were to rescue only one of them from the blaze? Which one would that be? I guess I’d grab my Super Star 1988 for all the happy memories she evokes. And what about you? Which one of your dolls would you rescue?