Quinceaneras

FEATURES quinceaneras quinceaneras

heidi aguilar

KAVYA KAUSHAL writer

While most teenagers excitedly await an extravagant sweet sixteen or turning legal at eighteen, junior Heidi Aguilar was looking forward to the day they turned fifteen. Celebrated in Latin America, Mexico, the place of Aguilar’s roots and other Latinx communities everywhere, the quinceañera (shortened form: quince) is a momentous occasion that celebrates a teen’s fifteenth birthday. There are many unique customs involved in a quince. The popular elaborate dress to the special doll that matches garments with the teen are just some practices one might see when attending a quince. Each custom defines a quince as both a religious and a social event that marks a teen’s transition from childhood to adulthood.

Said Aguilar, “There’s a special time known as the transition part where different family members are in charge of different items such as the cake, the shoes, the rings, the crowns, and the doll. My favorite part is when [the teenager] will switch from ordinary sneakers like Converse to high heels or fancy shoes, indicating their entrance to adulthood.” The tradition-filled quinceañera carries immense significance as more than a simple birthday party. The quinceañera has been practiced in Latin families years before sweet sixteen parties grew in popularity. Today, people celebrate quinceañeras as a connection to their religion and heritage and are expected to be more mature, responsible people following their ceremony.

Like countless others, Aguilar scheduled and dreamt up detailed plans for a lavish party. However, following the

COVID-19 shut down in March 2020 and the recommended guidelines, Aguilar and their family made the difficult decision to cancel their celebration.

About the significance the “ IT WAS DEFINITELY SAD BECAUSE IT IS A ONCE-

IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT. I JUST

FELT HELPLESS. HEIDI AGUILAR ” quinceañera holds in their family, said Aguilar, “My mom has a lot of sisters, so they weren’t all able to have quinces. Because my mom didn’t have [a quince], she wanted me to have one, and then COVID happened.”

Reflecting on their feelings, said Aguilar, “I tried to stay optimistic about it because you never know, but, deep down, I knew the celebration wasn’t going to happen. It was definitely sad because it is a once-in-alifetime event. I just felt helpless.”

Although they felt slightly envious of their older sister, who had a quinceañera, Aguilar acknowledged that unprecedented situations occur and many, like themself, were affected.

“Just because I didn’t have [a quince] doesn’t mean that other people shouldn’t because it is a big deal to families like mine,” Aguilar said.

On their fifteenth birthday, in place of their quinceañera, Aguilar celebrated with their parents and siblings at their residence with a family meal and homemade cake. The thousands of dollars that would have gone into their dress, venue, food and decorations were repurposed, and Aguilar was gifted a car instead. Aguilar would have loved to have their own quince celebration to honor their Mexican American roots. To Aguilar, their culture is their happiness and family. They find ways in their daily life to stay connected with their heritage, whether through their active involvement in the Latinx Student Union on campus to celebrating other cultural holidays like Día de Los Muertos. Aguilar hopes that despite their unfortunate situation, the tradition of the quinceañera is kept alive in their family

jovannah uribe

KATELYN CHU copy-editor

My dress was big and poofy. It was red with a white corset that had flowers embroidered on it. It was super cute, and I felt like a princess. My favorite color was red at the time. The people were all my cousins, friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, literally everyone I knew. I felt very loved on the day of my quinceañera. The fact that so many people came to see my coming of age was endearing,” Jovannah Uribe said, reminiscing on her quinceañera experience A culturally significant ceremony with roots in indigenous Latin American cultures, quinceañeras are a coming-of-age tradition symbolizing a girl turning into a woman at the age of 15, showing that she is ready for marriage. However, as Uribe points out, “In America [...] 15 is way too young to make any life decisions on your own, let alone get married,” so the ceremony is slightly modified.

In Uribe’s case, “[her] parents treated it more like a celebration of their daughter in general. [Her] quinceañera was more casual than most, [they] really just wanted to get the whole family together and have fun,” Uribe said.

Describing the planning process, “It’s like planning any other huge party, wedding or a baby shower. You have to make sure all the decora - tions are taken care of: the food, DJ, outfits, makeup, hair, and professiona l pictures. A really fancy quinceañera can take anywhere from 10-12 months to plan [...] mine was more on the casual side, we only took about six months to plan it,” Uribe said.

One aspect of planning Uribe points out is how quinceañeras are “not attainable for everyone.” “They’re very expensive parties,” Uribe said. The cost of a quinceañera can be anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, according to Uribe.

When the day of the celebration finally arrived – May 4, 2019 – said Uribe, “I remember being stressed. I woke up super early. My makeup appointment was probably at 6:30 a.m.

“I REMEMBER BEING

STRESSED. I WOKE UP

SUPER EARLY. MY MAKE-

UP APPOINTMENT WAS

PROBABLY AT 6:30 A.M.”JOVANNAH URIBE

Mind you – the party started at 4 p.m. I remember how much of a struggle it was to get into my dress with my hair and makeup done. It took three people to get me in and out of it.”

To start the day, she visited the Japanese friendship garden to take pictures with her best friends and immediate family. “Then we made our way to the party, and my entrance was really nerve-wracking,” Uribe said, as it is customary for the birthday girl to make a grand entrance, announced by a DJ. However, after overcoming her initial bout of nervousness, Uribe recalls how she devoured tacos with beans and rice. Said Uribe, “It was delicious.”

Often, quinceañeras also have religious ties, with traditional ceremonies at Catholic Churches followed by reception parties where relatives and friends are invited. At these celebrations, the birthday girl is surrounded by her “court of honor” while participating in a dance – anything from a waltz to a more casual dance. Similar to the

American concept of bridesmaids and groomsmen, courts of honor consist of friends, cousins and siblings who wear coordinated special outfits.

Speaking about her dance, “My cousins and I choreographed a dance, months ahead of time [...] I just did a casual hip-hop kind of dance. We wore army pants and everything,” Uribe said.

For her father-daughter dance, said Uribe, “[Mine] started out as a slow dance, but we remixed a Pitbull song into it because we thought it would represent our relationship more accurately. We like to have fun.”

With everyone dancing and having fun, the party lasted for 11 hours, starting at 4p.m. and continuing until the after-party died down at around 3 a.m. Uribe recalls her favorite part as dancing with her friends and family. “Everyone was dancing and having fun [...] the DJ had us turning up,” Uribe said.

In contrast to Uribe’s glowing experience, however, a considerable number of quinceañeras have been postponed or canceled in recent years due to COVID-19. When asked about her thoughts on if this caused a significant impact, said Uribe, “They just got pushed back. They turned into sixteenth or seventeenth birthday extravaganzas, but in general, quinceañeras don’t look any different now than they did before COVID.”

Speaking personally, said Uribe, “One of my cousins [had her quinceañera postponed and] she was sad. It sucks, but she had it this year, so all is well.”

Reflecting on her own experience, “I’m really grateful that I got to have a quinceañera [...] Not having one wouldn’t have been the end of the world, but I’m glad I did get to experience it”

diana&alejandra

ARUSHI ARORA writer

Imagine you are turning 15, wearing a gorgeous dress in your favorite color, getting ready to perform on the dance floor with your selected chambelanes (selected males in the court of honor). Looking around, you are surrounded by all your friends and family in a large room with a DJ playing your favorite music, a massive cake on your right and all your gifts stacked up to your left.

This image is what usually encompasses quinceañeras in the current decade; however, with unexpected changes and questions that arise with the pandemic, many young girls had to change or even cancel their plans for the biggest celebration of their teenage years.

This is an experience that many students at Tino relate to, including junior Alejandra Alvarez Guerra and sophomore Diana Villalobos. For example, Guerra ended up canceling her quinceañera altogether, an event she intended to celebrate during the summer of 2020, right after quarantine began.

Said Guerra, “I started planning in 2019 […] you usually start a year before your birthday, and so I started August 2019.” Once the planning begins, there are countless tasks to get done. Thinking about what they want, young women like Guerra ask them selves end less questions: What venue do I want? Do I want a photo booth? What kinds of decoration should I have? What colors do I want to wear?

In terms of her plans, Guerra had several ideas set in place. Said Guerra, “The theme of [my quinceañera] was supposed to be roses, and I was going to have two dresses, one for church. I’ve always wanted a red dress.”

Yet, as stores and businesses started to shut down, things quickly took a turn for the worst, resulting in Guerra’s decision to cancel her quinceañera.

Said Guerra, “It was such a waste, when COVID happened because I didn’t get to have my party in the end.

“I WAS SURROUND-

ED WITH THE PEOPLE

I CARED ABOUT, AND [SPENDING QUALITY TIME

WITH THEM WAS] WHAT

MATTERED TO ME. DIANA VILLALOBOS ”

It was like money gone to waste with a deposit on the limo. So, I’m using that for prom. It’s kind of disappointing, but we’re trying to make the most of the stuff we have.”

On the other hand, Villalobos had the opportunity to host her own quinceañera; however, with adjustments to account for the circumstances concerning COVID.

Said Villalobos, “In my case, because it was the peak of COVID, I decided to go on the simpler side of quince celebrations resulting in not much planning […] it was such short notice if it were to happen because we didn’t know if COVID would get worse during the time.”

She had planned to spend the day at San Francisco Golden Gate Park with her family, opting for an intimate yet meaningful birthday celebration. Said Villalobos, “To me personally, it was simple. The quince was small, but I was surrounded with the people I cared about, and [spending quality time with them was] what mattered to me the most.”

Looking back on her quinceañera, Villalobos shared that even if she got the chance to, she would not want to change anything. Although she had to modify her initial ideas for her quince along the way, the unique experiences with her loved ones made it all worth it. Said Villalobos, “I would consider my quince a success because I have pictures that capture priceless memories I experienced even if I didn’t have a huge party like others may have imagined.”

As quinceañera celebrations slowly diverge from their traditional structure, so are people’s perspectives on orthodox models and ideals. Guerra shares her perspective on the father-daughter dances and how she would have liked to dance with her mother for her quince.

Said Guerra, “I think the father-daughter dance is kind of dumb sometimes. Because you expect a man to come in and dance with the girl, and some girls don’t have dads, and for some girls, they’re not there […] I’ve seen videos of daughters performing with their moms, and I think that’s really sweet because [the quinceañera] doesn’t have to be traditional all the time” FEATURES | 11