Dear J Lo and Shakira, My 48 year old Latina booty thanks you.

Dear J Lo and Shakira,

As a 48 year old Latina mom of two with 2 dogs and 2 divorces under her Lululemon yoga pants, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for last night's performance at the Super Bowl. What I saw was pride, a celebration of the kickass women that you both are, a celebration of your culture, your womanhood, your sisterhood, your strength, and yes, your wondrous 50 and 43 year old booty.

I DO NOT GET THE HATERS.

Actually, I think I might which makes this unsettling as a fellow middle aged Latina.

Let's back up. My team didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year (first time in a long time) and I wasn't even going to have a Super Bowl Party. But then found out that J Lo would be performing and I was immediately like, "Um, yes I'm having a party."

The list is endless why I love her; her energy, her makeup (btw loved the Marc Jacobs last night) her strength. I could go on and on. But really, what it comes down to is that the woman has been married three times and is going for number 4 with A Rod and looks like this at 50 despite all that. And has a healthy co-parenting relationship with Marc Anthony.

This girl knows heartbreak, this girl knows loss yet she opened her heart up again and looks like she finally found the one. All while wearing impeccable peach lip gloss.

Love her.

I honestly don't much about Shakira but any woman who sings a song that's called Hips Don't Lie is a warrior in my book. (Editorial note: I just found out she has an IQ of 140 and was invited to join Mensa. Maybe she can figure out the dividing fractions with a tape diagram problem I've been preparing for tomorrow's math lesson:)

Flash forward to half time. I made it quite clear to my racially diverse guests (many shades of white and brown, men and women) how EXCITED I was to see her perform and that she had better sing Jenny from the Block.

I was not prepared for the powerhouse performance and celebration of being who you are that transpired.

Oh Shakira, Shakira, where do I begin?

Your voice. Your energy. Your dancing. Your exuberant joy. You sang in Spanish. I sat there in amazement at how you shook your booty. I was like, damn, they should offer a Shake Your Ass like Shakira class at the gym because let me tell you, it would be packed. You made me want to take salsa lessons. Your smile said it all, "I am having a damn good time."

And then I heard the first chords of Jenny from the Block and was like, "YES!"

You came out and showed the world the pride you had in being a woman. Being a mother. Being an entertainer. Being Puerto Rican. Being American. Being a Latina. You showed up in ways that so many of us have been waiting for. So much has been written about your pole dancing and appropriateness of it (Seriously people? Seriously?).When you got on that pole and did what you did my first thought was, "OMG that girl is STRONG. What does she do for core work?"

And then, then you sang with your girl. It was the sweetest moment ever.

This is a moment your daughter will never forget. What a gift you gave her to share this moment of pride and love with the whole world watching. The look on her face was like, "My mom is J Lo!.' And then I started thinking, I bet A Rod was watching telling everyone, "That's my future 50 year old wife!" with nothing but pride and adoration in his eyes.

Look at how he looks at her. So happy for them.

The show ended and all of us were in agreement (even people who weren't fans) that they both put on an awesome show.

Then I started reading posts on social media and was shocked. Utterly shocked. Comments about their outfits (excuse I see more skin at Abercrombie than I did last night-and those are every day clothes), the words "over sexualized" use countless times. I was like did we watch the same show? What I saw were two middle aged woman celebrate who they were: Puerto Rican, Columbian, American, mothers, wives, soon to be wives, daughters, entertainers. Athletes. Do you know what kind of shape they have to be in to sing like that and do that level of movement? They had curves. They had muscle. They had booty. They worked for it.

As the night progressed, I got more upset. I'm pretty sure I was ranting about it as I fell asleep and when the alarm went off at 5 this morning, I was still ranting about it. I read a lot. Many articles about how race, particularly because they were Latin, and how that played a role in the reaction by many. Not all, but many. Are people saying that if you didn't like the show that you're racist? No. I think, and what I'm trying to sift through is that it did play some sort of role to the reaction for some people. Different cultural norms. Different levels of comfort with one's body. The are SO MANY factors working here. Articles written by men, women, races, and gender affiliations. I thank these people. No one likes to discuss complicated issues, especially race because it's uncomfortable. That's exactly why we must discuss and explore these topics. I read so many articles about how the next election could be decided by the Latina vote, how the future of the economy could be based on the Latina population. You have to understand growing up in predominantly white communities as the only dark person (I wasn't Latina back then, I was just Mexican) it amazes me, amazes me, the evolution of the Latina and what a role model it is to all of us who never really had an idol (well I guess Charo from the Love Boat) growing up. Now we are a movement. We have magazines. I mean OMG MAC had an entire Selena line. Don't even get me started on Selena. She was as Mexican as you could get. Dark hair. Curves. Used a tortilla like a utensil. And had to learn Spanish to sing.

And let us not forget that J Lo played her in the movie of her life. It was on this weekend and I asked Mr. X Factor if he had ever seen it and he said no and my reaction was priceless. Priceless.

I think there's another factor going on with this too and that is this feeling of being judged. One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner (who writes so much about body image and weight) wrote a wonderful post on her Facebook titled, "To my Fellow Gen-X Women Who Are Maybe Feeling the Tiniest Bit Personally Judged by Jennifer Lopez's Body." She basically said, be awed and inspired by her AND be secure in the knowledge that nobody expects "your" living room to look like that. Both J Lo and Shakira worked their asses off to look like that. Literally. And yes they have money, and trainers, and chefs. But they still put in the work. And I don't hate them for it. I applaud them for feeling so comfortable as to who they are (and yes there were some haters out there who criticized their curves and hips that don't lie) and celebrating their femininity. And by femininity I mean what makes them feel beautiful. It's different for everyone. Women of all races, religions, and sexual orientations in this country right now are facing threats to their reproductive rights, unequal pay, and so many other things. We need to come together and celebrate what makes us feel strong, what makes us feel beautiful, and what makes us feel empowered. We don't need to criticize each other for what we wear or don't wear. How we move. We need to hold each other up and carry the march forward and gain momentum. One of my favorite parts of last night was when they hugged each other at the end. That was sisterhood. That was familia.

So thank you J Lo and Shakira. Thank you for making me feel more comfortable with who I am. Thank you for reminding me of the joy of dancing. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of glute work at the gym. Thank you for reminding me and showing the world that Latin Women are Mad Strong. That ALL Women are Mad Strong.

And really, was there ever any guess as to what song I would leave you with?

OMG, we did not even discuss the Ben Affleck years.

Enjoy.

#jlo #shakira #latina #superbowl #jennyfromtheblock #hipsdontlie #bodyimage #empowerment #sisterhood