Quinceanera, which is Spanish for Sweet 15, is a very popular celebration in the Spanish community. This is a very special day to both the mother and the daughter. This day signifies the transformation from a little girl to a young lady. It is a way of introducing a new woman to society. Turning 15 is the most important birthday for Spanish communities. Quinceaneras tend to be a big and elegant celebration in which every family member and friends collaborate to give the birthday girl the best party she has ever had. To my understanding every Sweet 15 was celebrated the same in every Spanish country. But after attending my friend’s Brazilian Sweet 15 my opinion has changed for the better. My friend Stephane Rene and I were …show more content…
There were fifteen friends, 7 boys and 7 girls and one male companion for the Quincenera adding up to 16. This was very interesting to me because in my culture the birthday girl gets to have 15 girls and 15 boys to escort her. According to Bruno, Jennily’s cousin, this represents every year she was born plus one more year for good luck. After leaving the church the families proceed to go outside the church to capture on film every moment of this one in a lifetime event. The Sweet 15 girl, Jennily, took pictures with everybody, this is a very important day and most be remember even by those who did not attend. While this is happening other relatives and friends leave to where the reception will be held so they can be there before the birthday girl arrived. The photo shoot also gives time for people to settle down at the location and to prepare Jennily’s big entrance. When we arrived at the reception, almost everybody was already there. Everybody was well dressed, women were wearing long dresses and the men were wearing suit and tie. Everybody was behaving in a very calm and friendly matter. As I looked around to get familiar with the place and the people, I noticed the table of food. Of course food is one of the main things to Spanish people. The table was completed with the most delightful and most well-known Spanish dishes such as salad, lasagna, platanos (plantains), sopa de pollo (homemade chicken
All birthdays are special. Birthdays celebrate life and the passing of time. In a young Mexican girl life, there is no birthday more important then her quinceañera. The quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s journey into womanhood. The story of my fifteenth birthday is contributed for a better understanding of how special it is to celebrate a girl’s transformation into a lady, and how it differs from any other birthday she celebrates.
Their family got together every opportunity they could. They had many traditional things they did as a family such as a gathering of family every year for her grandmother’s death, but as a celebration. Every year on Christmas Eve her family would also draw together to exchange gifts at different relative’s houses. The interviewee stated this became a tradition for her family because the married people in the family had to attend festivities at their spouses’ relatives. English and Spanish are both spoken in the Hispanics households. The majority of the older members of the family only speak Spanish. My interviewee stated that she did not know how to speak Spanish, but her mother did and fluently. She stated that her mother has always told her that she needed to know Spanish because that was her heritage, but she never felt it very necessary. The Hispanic culture celebrates the coming of age which is called a 15 or Quinceaneras. The Quinceanernas is usually a big production for the girls. The girls have escorts and dress in a formal type ballroom dress and have many of her friends and relatives there for the celebration. My interviewee stated that she did not have a Quinceaneras because she did not really get into it. She also stated that she got pregnant and did not want her parents to spend all that money for the celebration. The boys on the other hand do not go all out with this type of celebration, but instead celebrate at their
It can range from a fairytale princess, Cinderella, fairies and butterflies to precious moments in her life. And the third step is having a waltz. In most countries they have traditional customs were the quinceanera dances the first dance with her father. While dancing they play favorite quinceanera songs which are De Niña a Mujer (From Child to Woman) and La Ultima Muñeca (The Last Doll). It’s a special moment in time when the father and daughter are dancing. And the last step in having accessories for quinceanera includes dresses, tiaras, guest book, photo albums, champagne glasses, dolls, bibles, decorations and planning. In most countries in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central, and South America it’s a traditional and custom that their godparents and their parents pay for everything for her quinceanera on her fifteenth birthday. After cousin Christian finished explaining to me, she continued walking down the hall to begin to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. I told myself to never forget the first quinceanera I attended, and what she told me.
Your Quinceanera will be an exciting and memorable day, but it requires making decisions. As you plan this celebration of your 15th birthday, you have to choose between a band or a DJ. There are pros and cons to both and which one you choose depends on a few factors such as budget, size of venue, number of guests and musical preferences.
This year I turned fifteen and I had a quinceñera. At my quinceñera I wore a big, long, blue silky but puff dress, I had my quinceñera at a salon because I have a big family. For my quinceñera the waiters served this warm barbacoa which is a type of meat that is not spicy but on the side it comes with a somewhat spicy sauce if you want it to be spicy. They served that with steaming rice and nice warm beans and crunchy chips also so warm but smooth tortillas. I saw everyone enjoying the nice warm food, the food was delicious. Once everyone was done eating I saw that the band came in with their drums, trumpets, and more. The band played loud music and people got up and started to dance as well as me. Once everyone was done it time was time for the father daughter dance. My dad and I started to dance to a slow song I saw everyone taking out their phones and started to record us, I began to cry tears of joy. Once that was done everyone started to dance again. While everyone was dancing I went to go cut my two layer rectangular cake, my cake flavor was a fluffy red velvet cake with blue fondant and white frosting for some swirl designs. I had a lot of fun at my quinceñera and I hope every Mexican follows the tradition of doing one because they'll have fun and you only turn fifteen
At the reception there is food, however, there is no food that is culturally required to have at the Quinceñera, though food of their culture is popular. Guadalupe explained that lots of Mexican rice, mole (a dish with a sauce that includes chile, nuts, tomatoes, and a type of meat), and chicken pozole (a soup that has beef and corn grains) were the foods that she had at her Quinceñera, which are also popular foods that she’s seen at other’s
The conversion from childhood to womanhood is an extremely significant event in practically any culture. This event is known as a Quinceañera, also called fiesta de quince años, fiesta de quinceañera, quince años, quinceañero or commonly known as quince which is consisted of a celebration of a girl 's fifteenth birthday with cultural roots in Latin America but celebrated all over America. Nonetheless, Hispanics, recognize this occasion by doing the celebration of a Quinceañera. The Quinceañera tradition is believed to have initiated several years ago when the Spanish conquerors initiated the tradition in Mexico while others believe the tradition began with the Aztecs. During that ancestral home of the Aztec Indians, whose empire succeeded
Quinceanera is one of the most meaningful and beautiful occasions in Mexican culture. It embarks the celebration of girl’s fifteen birthday that is anticipated with much happiness and enjoyment. It is a celebration of womanhood means she is fully ready to take on her responsibilities and is of marriageable age. The ceremony is celebrated with zest and zeal by the parents.
In Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, girls do still have a Quinceanera, but it has to be altered in the way that it is done. There are many people that do not speak Spanish in the U.S., so there’s has to be a way to coordinate these people into the celebration, since mostly even have the English Language in common. Invitations for Quinceanera are made both in Spanish and In English. The invitations that are in English might read “Sweet 15” instead of a Quinceanera. Traditions that are done during the ceremony might not be done, they might be done before the ceremony. A young girl may chose to have a “Sweet 16” instead of the traditional Quinceanera. A “Sweet 16” is the coming of age party in the United
In many hispanic cultures, it is customary to have a big celebration for a young girls fifteenth birthday. This tradition is known as a Quinceanera, Quince, or Fiesta Rosa. This tradition celebrates a young girls coming of age. Moreover, this celebration “[embraces] religious customs, and the virtues of family and social responsibility” (Quinceanera-Boutique). In addition to celebrating the quinceanera, the big event allows family to come together and just enjoy themselves.
Envision stepping into the venue, seeing your guests smile and conversate peacefully, the atmosphere of the room glowing, and sensing the enthusiasm grow in your chest as you know you planned a successful Quinceanera. The day a girl of the Hispanic culture turns 15, is the day her fantasies become a reality; and she becomes a woman. Quinceaneras bear plenty of decision making, particular details, and ingenious ideas; but with these simple steps it can be spectacular.
The overall culture and society in Mexico is greatly influenced by Catholic traditions that have been practiced for generations. These traditions are looked at as social events in Mexican communities (Hoffman 258). A quinceñera is one Catholic rite of passage that is considered to be an important milestone as it represents the transition of a girl into a woman on her fifteenth birthday. Friends and family are expected to attend Catholic ceremonies such as these despite any religious affiliation because of how intertwined Catholicism is with Mexican society (Euan Alvarado). This connection means that the majority of religious Mexicans are Catholic, and makes it difficult for other religions to grow. The Catholic Church also creates a sense of
In regards to the difference's between my friend's quinces and my Sweet Sixteen's, there was a disparity in symbolic importance, formality, and cultural influences. According to my friend, there was an emphasis on ritual practices organized in her Quinceañera- done to bring good luck. For example, at her Quinceañera, 14 of her
Much like the U.S., Brazilian culture is extremely diverse. Brazil’s current population of 190 million represents various nationalities from European to African (Country Facts). Brazil has an extremely diverse culture with some common pervasive threads that grouped together give Brazil a national identity.
Stretching over 2,500 miles form east to west and 2,700 miles from north to south, Brazil is the world’s largest tropical country. The only nations that are larger are the lands of Russia, Canada, China and the United States. Brazil has more then 150 million people spread unevenly over its huge land area, making it the fifth most populated country in the world. (Encyclopedia.com) More then two thirds of Brazil’s people live in the cities and towns and more then 29 percent of them are in the ten cities with more then a million people. These include the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo with more then 15 million people and Rio de Janeiro with more then 9 million people. The rural population is mostly concentrated on the East Coast or