Can you believe that over 500,000 Quinceaneras are celebrated in the U.S. every year? Quinceaneras are a coming-of-age party celebrated when a girl turns 15 years old. These parties are traditions that Latin American countries have been celebrating for a long time. Modern Quinceaneras have evolved into much bigger and more lavish events.
Historically, Quinceaneras originated from the Aztec culture. It was meant to get girls married, as 15 was the age at which marriage was normalized. Over time, it changed to a coming-of-age party, where they would celebrate a girl becoming a woman. Along with this, Quinceaneras are a religious and social event. Typically, the day of the party would start with a church mass where the girl receives Holy Communion and commits
herself to God and The Virgin Mary. After the ceremony, there are typically 2 hours between the end and the beginning of the part portion. During this time the quinceanera will usually go out with her court to go out to eat or hang out with her friends who are in the court. This time is important because it gives time for everyone to relax and get last-minute things done. Once this time is done the party starts!
What happens at the party can vary from person to person, but a few traditions are commonly done. One of these traditions is the doll ceremony. The doll ceremony is when the quinceanera gets a doll with the same color dress as her and dances with it to signify that this is the last doll she will ever have as a girl. However, many quincernas have recently decided to switch the doll to a bear to make it more personalized and look better. Another tradition is the father and daughter dance. This dance is for the quinceanera and her dad to share one last moment before she takes her first steps into womanhood. Finally, one more tradition that is commonly
celebrated is the switching of shoes. This is a ceremony where the quinceanera changes from flats/sneakers to high heels to show that she is now a woman. Something else that has become more popular in recent years is surprise dances. Surprise dances are dances that the quinceanera and her court perform as a way to have fun and get their guest excited. Although not everyone does all of these traditions, it’s still something that is commonly celebrated.
To get insight into how the day was from the Quincerna’s point of view we decided to interview Jennedy Herrera a sophomore at South El Monte High School. As we stated before there are a lot of traditions that take, because of this we asked Jennedy what traditions she did and how she felt during them. She said that she did the father and daughter dance, shoe ceremony, and doll ceremony and that it was her favorite part. “It was my favorite part of the day because I got to share that moment with my family. I wouldn’t have done it any different,” stated Jennedy. Since quinceaneras and known to be highly stressed and take months to plan we wanted to know if that was true. Jennedy said “It is very highly stressed. I started planning a year and there were still last-minute things that needed to be done.” You might be wondering if having a quince was even fun with all the stress that comes with it, but Jennedy reassures you that it is. “It was stressful, but it was still a lot of fun. I loved everything about my quince and even though some things went wrong it’s still on my favorite days.” Overall Jennedy’s lets us explore how it is from a Quincerna’s point of view and shows how much fun a quince can be!
All in all, Quincernas are a time of celebration for a girl to enter womanhood. The day is filled with many memories that can make the quince unforgettable!
