Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?
Thanks very much for your response and the time you took to look this up!Since the name was probably rare in Russia even in the Soviet era, I highly doubt it. How would a Soviet Russian name even become popular in Latin America? For example: it doesn't seem like there was a hugely popular Russian film with that name, in the same way that the Mexican film was hugely popular in the Soviet Union and popularised the name Yesenia/Yeseniya.My theory of this would have to do with why Yolanda Vargas Dulche chose the name for the character. In her famous story, Yesenia is a gypsy girl. There certainly were connections between Russia and Mexico back in the 1940s when Vargas Dulche began her career. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was living in Mexico City when he was assassinated, after all. People involved in the arts like Vargas Dulche have usually been more attracted to both foreign influences and left-leaning politics than the average person.It just seems more likely to me that Vargas Dulche would have thought Yesenia was a good name for a gypsy girl if she had run across it as an exotic Russian name than taking it from a genus of palm trees. Of course we will never know unless someone runs across a statement from Yolanda Vargas Dulche explaining why she chose the name for her character.
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Messages

Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  clevelandkentevans  ·  2/13/2020, 9:58 AM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  Jelisava14  ·  2/22/2020, 5:40 AM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  Dorchadas  ·  2/14/2020, 7:44 AM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  clevelandkentevans  ·  2/15/2020, 1:15 PM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  thegriffon  ·  2/18/2020, 12:46 AM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  elbowin  ·  2/18/2020, 3:12 AM
Re: Russian origin for Yesenia?  ·  thegriffon  ·  2/18/2020, 1:46 PM