The Importance Of A Quinceañera

Marked as a celebration of the transition from childhood to womanhood, quinceaneras have been a long-standing tradition among Latin American families. Though “quinceanera” literally means “fifteen year old girl,” the term has become more closely associated with the celebration itself, oftentimes by non-latinx people. Among Latin American families and culture, the celebration is often referred to as “fiesta de quince años” (fifteen year party) or simply a “quinces.” To avoid any confusion, I use “quinceanera” to refer to the celebration, rather than the individual, for the remainder of this paper. Historically, fifteen was seen as the age when Latina girls were ready for marriage, and the quinceanera celebrated that transition. While modern quinceaneras have drifted away from this initial intent, and now reflect more of a celebratory coming of age narrative, the marriage and wedding-related symbolism is still apparent.

A Quinceañera is a popular rite of passage ceremony in Mexico, celebrated exclusively by girls. The term comes from the Spanish words quince and años, which mean fifteen and years (cf. Barbezat n.p.). As the name says it stands for a girl turning 15, which marks the end of childhood and symbolizes the start of a new life chapter as a grown woman (cf. Avila García). Important features of the celebration are family, womanhood and integrating the girl in the community as a new adult. Furthermore, the Quinceañera is now also ready to take responsibilities, make her own decisions and has more rights than she had before turning 15, for example driving a car. She is gaining liberty with her 15th birthday, and is about to make new experiences, like

As the year passed me by it gave me time to think and time to realize that it did cost money to throw such a festivity and that it’s not as important as many traditional Latinos see it. All I really needed when I turned fifteen was my family and most of all my mother who raised me to be a reasonable, smart, mature woman. What I learned from this experience was that I didn’t need a big party to know that I made the rite of passage to become a woman; all I needed was those who were close to me, responsibility and

. The day of my Quinceanera started early. I had just turned 15 and it was the birthday I had always dreamed of. I was always a dama in other Quinceanera’s, but now it was time for my own celebration. In Mexican culture, a dama is just like a bridesmaid. I had 14 of my closest friends as my dama’s to be a part of my “court of honor”. All 14 girls wore beautiful hot pink dresses and had polished hairstyles. The girls looked like beautiful dolls. When my mother was a little girl she had two Quinceanera’s. One celebration took place in Mexico and the other here in California. Looking back at my

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.

The Hispanic culture has different values, beliefs, and traditions. Family is highly value. Family is a close-knit group and the most important social group to gather in any events or special days. The Hispanic “family unit” includes not only parents and children but also grandparents and extended family. Individuals within the family have moral responsibilities to help other members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, health conditions and any other life issues. They show the importance placed upon relationship within their family extending a hand in good times and bad. Respeto y dignidad (respect and dignity) are other important values of the Hispanic culture. Children’s are taught to avoid confrontations with parents and older persons, and to be obedient and respectful. The Hispanics believe that the father is head of the family and the mother is to take care of home. Naming children after grandparents and parents is fairly common. A well-known tradition is the celebration of a fifteen year old girl called Quincenera. Hispanics culture and traditions are based around celebrating and spending time with love ones.

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.

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

The Hispanic culture values children’s turning of age just like the American culture does. In American culture, teenagers can buy cigarettes and lottery tickets at age eighteen. At age sixteen, most American teens (depending on the state) can get a permit and begin to learn to drive. In Hispanic culture, fifteen is the chosen age; they value the girl’s fifteenth birthday because that is the age that they believe the young girl changes and becomes an adult, a woman. When the girl celebrates her fifteenth birthday, they celebrate by having a big turning-of-age ceremony and reception which they call a Quinceñera. The Quinceñera is a big event, almost like a wedding for the young girl.

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.

Many people have experienced a Rite of Passage at least once in their lives without recognizing it. Experiencing a Rite of Passage is necessary to becoming an adult. A Rite of Passage can be both formal and informal, they both indicate a shift from one state to another. Formal Rites of Passages are weddings, Quinceañeras, and Bar Mitzvah, whereas informal Rites of Passages are a person’s first kiss, first job, and or the loss of a person 's virginity. Julia Alvarez focuses on the process and idea of Quinceañeras in her article "Selections from Once Upon A Quinceañera." Also included in this article is Jaider Sánchez that witnessed the sexual part of the ritual and Isabella Martinez Wall who talks about the benefits of the ritual on her life.Although many people believe that experiencing a Rites of Passage is not directly related to one 's self identity, these rituals both informal and formal do in fact affect one 's personal identity.