As soon as I heard Abuelita Rosa sing, I was transported back to Miami. I felt like I was in a Cuban bakery, sipping a delicious cafecito cubano while munching a pastelito de guava. I know that probably sounds strange, but after spending the majority of my life in Miami, it’s impossible not to recognize the accent I immediately associate with the Caribbean – particularly Cuba. Needless to say, I felt like I was back in the place I called home for almost 21 years.

My three-year-old daughter, Vanessa, never lived in Miami (unless you count the six months she was in my belly before we moved to Colorado) and has only visited once. However, I have sung some of the songs that this plush doll belts out when you press her hand. The ones I haven’t she’s heard many times thanks to her father’s side of the family who hails from Puerto Rico. So she was thrilled when she heard Abuelita Rosa sing and realized she could actually sing-along.

Abuelita Rosa is an adorable grandma-looking doll dressed in a typical pink “bata de casa” created by a company out of Miami, Florida, called Baby Abuelita. The main concept behind Abuelita Rosa, her husband, Abuelito Pancho, and the rest of their products has to do with preserving our cultural heritage. From their website: “Our unique line of plush dolls sings very special nursery rhymes that will warm your heart, recapture the memories of your childhood and teach a new generation the joys of Hispanic musical heritage.”

If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we are big advocates of using music to help your children along in their bilingual journey. But music is for more than just having fun while learning new vocabulary, it also has to do with heritage. For many of us, myself included, it wasn’t until we had children that we realized that although we might have had a vague memory of some of the lullabies, nanas or arrullos sung to us when we were babies, we didn’t really remember all the lyrics. The products created by Baby Abuelita will definitely jog your memory and make it easier for you to share with your little ones the songs that once made you feel loved.

Although my husband and I are both Latinos, we grew up in different countries and thus have different memories of our childhood. Vanessa is lucky in that she has been introduced to both our cultural traditions. One thing I truly liked about Baby Abuelita’s dolls is that they sing the kind of songs that I grew up with, such as “Arroz con Leche” and “Los pollitos dicen,” but also ones from my husband’s childhood, such as “Mi escuelita” and “Naranja dulce.”

Baby Abuelita’s award winning products also include two DVDs: Family Fiesta and Sail Away fun bingual videos which deal with family, traditions, and language issues. Plus they both have the added bonus of including a bunch of bilingual songs. My daughter’s fave episode is the one about traditional costumes and Hispanic Heritage Month.

Baby Abuelita is offering all of you a 20% discount when purchasing the mini-doll/Family Fiesta DVD combo (either Rosa or Pancho). Just enter the promotion code: MINI.

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What a concept! An online toy retailer which sells dolls, books and products that actually represents this country’s growing multicultural population.

In fact, check out Dolls Like Me‘s philosophy: “Children need to see the world the way it really is. They need to begin to develop global understanding, cultural awareness, and self-esteem as early as possible–and children of color need positive images that look like them.” I totally agree, don’t you?

I first stumbled upon Dolls Like Me way back when we started SpanglishBaby. I was writing this post about bilingual toys and I was flabbergasted by how little I could find out there made with bilingual + bicultural kids in mind. The thing is that as the minority population increases in the U.S., more and more companies are realizing the need for products to reflect our country’s growing cultural diversity. Luckily, Dolls Like Me has basically gathered it all under one site. Therefore, you can find all sorts of stuff in this multicultural online store including puppets, memory books, costumes and hair + skin products–to name a few.

As its name states, you will find a variety of ‘ethnic’ dolls. In other words, dolls that represent what us Latinas–and most probably our children–look like. The website’s selection of dolls is fairly large, but my favorite is one called Apolonia from the Dominican Republic. Although pricey (it goes for $99), the doll is absolutely stunning. It actually looks like a collectible and I can’t imagine what it would end up looking like at the mercy of my three-year-old.

Because their selection of products is so large, I suggest you actually go visit the website so you can see for yourself all the wonderful multicultural stuff you can get your hands on for both your kids and as gifts for others.

Dolls Like Me has been generous enough to offer you a limited time 10% SpanglishBabyFinds Discount on everything in their store in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. The discount will be valid from now until October 31, 2009.  To take advantage of this offer, use discount code: spanglish at checkout.

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