For Latinos, Valentine's Day celebrates a more platonic love.

The American version of Valentine's Day, or San Valentín, has evolved into the largest holiday of passionate, sensual love between two people. This love fest, with its cutesy symbols and high expectations, gives lovers the opportunity to shower each other with gifts of flowers, chocolates and sparkly jewelry.

An homage to friends

While most of the world looks forward to this annual homage to red, hot love, Latin Americans take a more platonic approach and celebrate their friends on February 14th. The "Día del amor y la amistad" celebrates friendship; as a result, lovers are not the only ones enjoying roses and candy, as the holiday highlights enduring, life-long relationships that may outlast marriages and engagements.

And while the Day of Love gets celebrated similarly to Valentine's Day in the states, there are also as many variations as there are countries in Spanish-speaking America. Here are some of the most unusual o

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By Liliana Moyano for Shine Latina

Anywhere you look in Colombia, you find someone selling mango, papaya, pineapple or a full fruit salad with table cream and queso. I am a fruit lover, so I generally stop at every corner tasting the different concoctions. In addition to the naturally sweet parfaits, I enjoy the experience of meeting the amazing people who sell these eats on the street, many of whom remember me from my annual visits to their stands.

With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to take this creamy, street delicacy, and turn it into a sensual Valentine's morning dish to enjoy in bed with your honey. I chopped pineapple and strawberries into very fine pieces and served them in a champagne glass for some added glamour. It's a creamy, playful dessert topped with rich condensed milk and crunchy almonds. Perfect for sharing in bed while wearing that lingerie you have picked out!

Ingredients 

(2 servings)
3 tbsp. table cream (can be substituted for heavy cream or vanilla yogur

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Learn how to give your skin a flawless finish using the right products and these basic techniques.

By Charleen Gonzalez for Shine Latina

Not everyone wakes up looking like a million bucks, but you can definitely look the part with the right makeup techniques. It's actually really simple to create an impeccable canvas for your face. All you need is moisturizer, primer, concealer, foundation and powder. From deep under-eye circles to hyper pigmentation, we literally have got you covered! Also, for Latinas that tend to get oily skin, I have a moisturizer that will take away that shine. Now, these steps are easy enough for everyday, but for those who don't tend to wear a lot of makeup, feel free to keep these techniques at hand for your next special occasion.

Step 1: Moisturizer

Even if you have oily skin, you need to moisturize your skin every day. In fact, if you don't moisturize, your glands will over-produce oil. I like using Shiseido's PURENESS Matifying Moisturizer Oil Free for e

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Some of those old-fashioned dating ideas may actually be more sound than you think. Here's a look at those rules that make more sense today than ever.

Boy meets girl. They exchange numbers. Boy doesn't call. Three days later girl calls boy-"How ya doin'?" They go out,and spend the night together. Boy leaves next morning. Girl never hears from him again.

While many would say with a sigh of resignation that this is just the way relationships are these days, I've been wondering how much of Abuela's old dating ideas are relevant today. And no, I'm not talking about going back to chaperonas, or avoiding kissing until you get married. I'm talking about taking a page from previous generations to learn about grasping the deep, enduring love we yearn for.

Treat yourself right with a DIY spa treatment at home

There's an old Spanish refrán that says "En el amor, el hombre caza y la mujer pesca" (or "In love, men hunt and women fish"), and I think that this funny saying summarizes all I heard f

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By Liliana Moyano for Shine Latina

Abuela used to sing a children's song called Arroz con Leche as she cooked desserts, pastries and her famous rice pudding. The smell of the sweet treat invaded the entire house making it almost impossible not to ask for a sample. And once the pudding was fully cooked, we still had to wait a few hours until it cooled down in the fridge. Finally, we were allowed to try the anticipated dessert after dinner…and it never lasted through the night.

I always thought it was very difficult to make arroz con leche, until I conquered it with my sister Marcela a few weeks ago. There's no way of messing this one up!

Enjoy!

Ingredients 

(6 servings)
1 cup rice
¾ cup water
1 cup milk
½ cup condensed milk
1 cinnamon stick
½ cup half & half
½ cup raisins



Indulge in this dish after succulent pork chops with cilantro tzatziki

Directions
Place the rice in a pot set at low heat. Add the water, and let the rice cook for about 30 minutes or until the water has eva

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