The Quinceanera is a traditional celebration of life and gratitude to God on the occasion of the fifteenth birthday of a young Hispanic girl. It is one of the most important celebrations for Latina Girls. The purpose of a Quinceanera is to mark the passage from youth into womanhood in a young woman’s life through ceremony and celebration. It provides a day to honor and acknowledge the traditions of the Hispanic and Catholic Culture and the important transition that every young woman experiences as she matures, both in the eyes of society and in her own life. The author discusses the quince from many different perspectives.
Quinceanera’s can be very elaborate events, often involving preparation a year in advance of the actual fate, and can cost as much a wedding ceremony. The quince ceremony is an opportunity to define their self-identity in the Hispanic community and to show that their daughter is a girl with values and that she is ready to become a woman, however this ritual should be simple and not be a way of showing off the families’ wealth and prestige in the community. According to traditional usage, Quinceanera’s have been a celebration only for young Hispanic women who are about to turn fifteen.
One of the young girl who had her Quinceanera states that boys do not need Quinceanera’s as “boys are born men but girls turn into women” (58).
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This statement is backed up by her other friends. The Quinceanera is a tradition where the girl gives a speech, selects fifteen people of the most significance to her and celebrates her birthday with them along with many other family members and friends. The purpose of the ceremony is to remind the young woman about her religious responsibilities and her role as a woman. The Quinceanera celebration is like a rehearsal wedding without the groom” (49).
During the Quinceanera ceremony the young girl will place a bouquet of flowers on the altar of the church as an offering. She will be given a crown, and the priest will recite passages from the bible about the importance of the crown. When the young woman enters the church she will wear a pair of flat shoes. Her father will switch these shoes for a pair of adult high heeled shoes. Many young women will be given a ring to symbolize the infinite circle of God’s love, which she will wear on her right hand ring finger. Sometimes a doll is given to the girl as a symbol of the last item she will receive as a child.
It sends a clear message to the Latina girl, about what her family expects her to do, which is to get married and to devote herself to her family. It transforms a girl into a woman; it gives the young girl a sense of responsibility. Julia Alvarez states that according to her contact, “Isabella had found out that girls who had Quinceanera’s didn’t drop out of school, get pregnant and didn’t get into trouble (47).
This is one of the main motives of the quince; to change their way of thinking in a more mature direction.
The Quinceanera also strengthens their family’s relations. It is a time when the whole family comes together, like a family reunion and it gives the girl time to bond with the family, especially with her mother during the time of the preparation of the Quince. “The most important thing of this is to make the celebration yours, totally yours. ” (47).
During the time of the celebration, the whole family and all her friends and relatives focus on only the birthday girl; it’s her day, and all the effort is towards making that day memorable for the young girl.
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This makes the girl feel special, so special in fact that it often also changes their way of thinking and gives them a whole new perspective of seeing things. The Quinceanera provides an opportunity for the Latino community to reaffirm its identity as something that is both a part of, and separate from, the surrounding society. The Quinceanera’s are becoming expensive over the years. They used to be celebrated as a tradition for transformation of a young girl into her adulthood, but that is not the case anymore. They are becoming a status symbol for people.
People want to spend more and more money for showing off their wealth in the society. The average cost of a Quinceanera today is about five thousand dollars, which is too high for a mediocre family. Spending that massive amount just for one night is not a compulsion but because of the trend that has been going on the families tend to spend those amounts even if they know it might lead the family into trouble. The Quinceanera, on the negative side, tend to force the families into debt. The Quinceanera can cost from anywhere from a hundred bucks to fifty five grand (54).
But it is not the same anymore, due to the high expectations of the society and the status of their family they tend to spend more than thy can afford. Due to the society’s expectations to throw expensive and grand Quinceanera’s for their daughters, these have become more of an obligation than a tradition. The parties tend to show off the families wealth instead of focusing on the transformation of a girl into her womanhood. Quinceanera traditions exist to mark the transition into womanhood and not to show off the family’s wealth.
Julia Alvarez states that girls would rather not have a quince than have an inexpensive one (62) as then the society would look down upon them. Monica Ramos, whose father was not working and whose family was staying in an apartment spent about $3000 on the celebration of their Quinceanera. They “threw their rented apartment out of the window” (55).
This leads to a problem for the families in the later stage as they go into debt which they cannot come out of. Also in the text, Julia Alvarez mentions Patricia Saldarriaga, daughter of a mayor who was obligated to have a big quince party against her wish because of her father’s position.
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“The most important thing in a Quinceanera is to make the celebration yours, totally yours” (47).
This is not the situation when the girls are forced to have a celebration against their will. The Quinceanera is not a way of showing off the families “status”, also it is not an obligation to spend a minimum amount of money on a Quinceanera. The money involved in the Quinceanera doesn’t make the celebration special, the presence of her whole family, all her friends and the fact that it is her celebration should make the occasion a special one.
Even though the Quinceanera’s have become more and more expensive over the years and forced many families to “throw the house out of the window” (54), it is celebrated mainly for the happiness of their daughter. “We may not be rich but we value our daughter”, a statement made by families; this shows how much the families respect the tradition and still want to continue the ritual even though they are not very rich. Families enjoy throwing huge parties because they want to please their daughter and not the society; after all it’s all about making the young girls celebration memorable.
After all of these years of the Quinceanera’s becoming more and more expensive and becoming a way to show off the family’s wealth, the main purpose still is to celebrate the girls coming of age and transformation into the adult life. I feel that the young woman and her family together should decide whether or not the Quinceanera should be celebrated. By reflecting about the ceremony and having the choice to either celebrates it or not also shows a sense of responsibility and maturity.
