Fashion Fridays: Fania Starts A Clothing Line

Words by Jesse Serwer

Since 2006, foundational salsa label Fania Records has undergone a remarkable resurrection, transforming itself from a long-dead concern whose assets were said to be molding in an upstate New York warehouse to one of the more vibrant archival record labels around. Besides re-issuing long out-of-print material from its own archives as well as that of other Latin labels such as Alegre and Cotique, Fania 2.0 has released stuff like house DJ Joe Claussell’s dot-connecting Africa Caribe mix CD and a compilation curated by John Leguizamo for the actor’s recent Broadway show, Ghetto Klown. The latest evolution of the company started by Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco in 1964 is a mini-clothing line, boasting obligatory stuff like T-shirts and fitted caps but also infant onesies, presumably meant to only be worn specifically on days involving dancing to “Baby Loves Salsa.”