A Quince In The Mexican Culture

A quince is when a young girl enters woman hood on her 15th birthday or at least that is what it is in the Mexican culture. They honor not only the girl but her parents as well as her padrinos, godparents, family and whoever else helped buy her dress and accessories. In former times when a girl is turning 15 it usually means she is ready to be married off and take on full responsibilities and is an active adult member in the community. Today the tradition is very different has other meanings but mostly it means it is a celebration for her passage to woman hood and is a celebration of family and community. A young girl's 15th birthday begins with going to church for misa de acción de gracias also known as a mass to give thanks to a completed

So, I have my pajamas on and I show off my dress as it is laid out across my bed very fashionably. My dress was a strapless, two-piece corset passing floor length and was the color of a rose-pink gold with lots of jewels sown on the top part to make it look nice and sparkly, the bottom of my dress was nice and wavy. I then show my shoes, I wore flats they were silver with lots of glitter on them, they didn't really match my dress as much but no one was going to see them anyways. Most girl's that I know have worn regular shoes with their dress like vans or converse. Next was my bible which the cover was also matching my dress, my crown was a decent size not to big not too small. It was like a crown for a princess it had the number 15 dangling in the front, that was replaceable it came with a little crown you can put in the front instead of the number 15 but I chose to keep 15 on it. I also had a pillow which was the color of my dress too and it said "mis quince años". So first I had my makeup done which was just basic foundation and mascara for me, then I did my hair. My hair was curled and then put to the side a little and my crown was bobby pined on afterwards. After I was done showing everything off to the people recoding the whole thing and taking pictures, I changed into my dress and shoes. I put my hand in front of the camera before changing and then after I was done

My dress is a historical artifact, I watched my single mother give every little cent she had to make my 15 a reality. I watched her sell her only car she had to get to and from work just to be able to pay off the banquet we rented for the night. I was with her when she sold it I just didn't know she was doing it for me. We arrived at the house of the man that was going to buy the car, let him test drive it and everything then agreed he would buy it. It was a 2 door 2003 silver Honda civic stick shift. He gave us the money then gave us a ride home. We live in a community mobile home park so he dropped us off at the gate and we walked home from there. I've had it for 4 years now and I hope someday if I have a daughter I will be able to pass it on to her and she will be able to pass it on to her daughter and so one and so on. Not only was this my 15 celebration but it was also my mothers who did not have a chance to have one when she was younger since she lived in Guatemala with her grandmother along with 3 other siblings and could not afford to have one. It was a celebration for both of us and an honor for both of us because she sacrificed more than me. It is why I cherish my dress like an antiquity even though it's only 4 years