Victoria Nechiporuk Mrs. Engeland English ll March 18, 2024 All about the Quinceaera In many cultures around the world, a coming-of-age ceremony is a significant event that symbolizes the transition of young people into adulthood. These rituals are often rooted in traditions and customs that are unique to each society. For instance, the Ethiopian cow jump and the Brazilian Satere-Mawe ritual of bullet ants are two examples of traditional rituals that have been passed down to each generation throughout many years. In Hispanic families, the Quinceaera is a traditional coming-of-age celebration that is held when a young woman turns 15 years old, marking her entrance into adulthood. The Quinceaera celebration, also known as “quince” and “quinceaos,” …show more content…
When a member of the tribe reaches a certain age, they are prepared for their future role in order to serve their family and community. When the Spanish colonized Mexico in the early 1500s, they adopted these tribal customs and added their religious aspect known as "Mass," stemming from Roman Catholicism. (Encyclopedia Britannica) Additionally, the author Sally Odekirk points out that the word “Quinceaera” is derived from two Spanish words: “quince,” meaning fifteen, and “aos,” meaning year. She notes that it can “refer to either the party itself or the young woman celebrating her birthday.” Odekirk explains that the original purpose of the Quinceaera was to prepare a young woman for her future role as a mother and housewife, seeking a husband and eventually marrying. She learned homemaking skills such as cooking, baking, and weaving for the benefit of her future household. According to Quinceanera.com, the celebration is divided into two parts: the Mass and the Fiesta. Although some skip the Mass, it is a cherished moment for the celebrant as she receives blessings from her family and the church. and may need to memorize a prayer or
I shouldn’t have a quinceanera , what’s so important you turning fifteen having a huge party having a big dress , food , make-up , and hair done . every one turn fifteen and some people don’t make a huge party and go all out just for you turning a age , it’s not a big deal turning fifteen you still a teen you're not an adult yet , your still a kid.
The Quinceañera is a celebration in Latin America that is very comparable to our Sweet 16 celebration, also know as the fiesta de quince años. The origination of the word comes from the feminine term of fifteen-year-old in Spanish. The overall celebration marks the transition from childhood to becoming a young woman. In earlier times this celebration was meant to be a teaching point for young women to learn how to cook, weave, and the art of becoming a mother. Depending on the family specifically, some can carry a religious tone, and some can be more traditional and casual.
The Latinos make up close to 16 percent of the total American population, thus becoming the 2nd largest ethnic community. Just like many other migrant populations, the Latinos seek to keep in touch with their Hispanic traditions and cultures. As Alvarez puts it, children born in the US are thus taught certain cultural events and values so as to maintain their lineage. The most common one as discussed by Alvarez in her book is the quinceañera. This refers to a girl’s celebration as she reaches fifteen. This day of celebration is supposed to mark a girl’s transition from being a child to an adult woman. Among other traditional symbols, these parties are huge and include choreographed dances and ball gowns.
Envision stepping into the room, seeing your guess smile and talk quietly, the atmosphere of the room glowing, and feeling the warmth grow inside your chest as you know you planned a successful Quinceanera. The day a girl of the hispanic culture turns 15, is the day her fantasies come to life; and she becomes a women. Quinceaneras carry lots of quarks, small details, and ideas; but with these simple steps it can be perfected.
After reviewing the Cultural Experience assignment, I ponder on a cultural experience event that I could participate in. One day, my niece’s teammate’s mother, mentioned that her oldest daughter was having a Quinceañera. A Quinceañera is a traditional, coming-of-age celebration for Latin Americans girls, on their fifteen birthday. The young woman and her family are celebrating, the girls’ transition to womanhood. Outside of television, I knew very little about Quinceañera’s.
Ever since I was young I wanted to have a Quinceanera. I always wanted to wear a long and fluffy dress and a shiny crown on my head. I always saw many girls on t.v or family members have their own Quinceanera, so I decided that I wanted to have mine as well. Quinceanera are family traditions, in Mexico it’s when a young girl is about to become fifteen years old they have a Quinceanera, which represents that you are turning into a young woman.
In Quinceanera, the concept of growing up is surrounded by cultural lies. In Latin culture, the celebration of when a girl turns 15 symbolizes the transition to adulthood. In the poem, we see the narrator showing resistance to the act of growing up. She expresses her emotions by saying, “My dolls have been put away like dead children,” to put away her dolls who are not supposed to be “dead” to her. She needs to move on from any tangible objects that have any
A quinceañera is a Hispanic tradition; however, other cultures and other stages of life have rites of passages very similar, such as a sweet sixteen. This rite-of-passage does not symbolize anything other than turning a year older; therefore, it does not affect a person’s self-identity nearly as much as a quinceañera does. Likewise, a wedding, which was once seen as a religious ceremony, seems to have lost some of its luster. The above two examples are very different, but neither help establish self-identity as well as a quinceañera. This may be because guidelines were never established or the “traditional” way of celebrating is no longer the only way. In addition, both have never, or are no longer, limited because of your gender and there is no spiritual significance attached to either. In the case of the sweet sixteen, while it is most prevalent in the American culture, it is not exclusive to it. On the other hand, quinceañeras are gender specific, do have a religious background attached to them, and are exclusive to one culture, which makes quinces so crucial in forming self identity.
There are a number of activities that take place during the ceremony and each part has its own purpose and significance. As a whole, the procession takes place over a course of four days and within a decent amount of time of the first menstruation. However, in the event of the child being away at boarding school they will go home immediately or if this is not an option then the ceremony must be postponed. The ordering of events take place over the course of the four days directly relate to the myth of the origins of Kinaalda. For instance, in Marie Shirley’s Kinaalda the order and the events that take place resemble closely the events that took place during the mythical origin story. For Shirley’s own ceremony the events that take place include: hair-combing, dressing, molding, race one and race two, nighttime activities, and several others. To prepare for the events that will take place, the people involved do things such as shelling corn and cleaning the hogan. On the first day of the ceremony the girls involved have their hair combed to make the girl resemble Changing Woman and are dressed in their ceremonial clothing, which include adornments of silver and turquoise. When wearing the jewelry some feel that this is a testament of her future. If she wears large amounts of jewels then this will mean she will have a rich life full of success. Usually after the dressing is the lifting of the people. This is something that Changing Woman did during her own ceremony, as a way to thank the people for their gifts (Wheelwright, 1942). They are then to lay on their stomach to begin the process of the molding; this relates to the first girl’s kinaalda myth in which “she was molded and pressed so she would have a good figure” (T...
There is a lot of history behind how Quinceañeras came about just like there is for several other cultural inspired events. The Mayans and the Aztecs first celebrated this event. What happened was that on a girl’s fifteenth birthday they were looked upon as a woman and ready to marry and have children. After her fifteenth birthday she would learn how to cook, clean and care for a house and children. If a woman did not end up marrying after her celebration then she would become a nun or stay home and take care of her parents. Women were looked highly upon and were valued and respected for their ability to bear children. Today, however, the celebration is more symbolic of adulthood and gaining responsibilities and opportunities to date and learn more about their culture and religion.
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 quinceaera is an event that is celebrated worldwide. The term “quinceaera” means fifteen years in English. It’s an extravagant birthday bash for a young lady turning the age of fifteen. ”Celebrating my quince aos meant beginning the life of a new adult. It has also given me much more responsibility for my own actions” (Xochitl Comparan, Victoria, Texas).
Do I even want to have a sweet sixteen? I’ve never seen myself as the quintessential “princess”, in a flowing dress and mile high tiara. I could just wait until my eighteenth, then I’d be considered an adult, at least in American society. Do I even want a Quinceanera? It revolves around the church so much it’s practically the sun and the earth. Besides, could I even have a Quinceanera? My family would have to travel all the way to Mexico.
Another popular coming of age celebration is that of Hispanic origin: the Quinceañera. In this tradition, celebrated at the age of fifteen, a girl begins by renewing her baptismal vows in a special Mass and solidifies
The second family that I interviewed was the Lyles family. Both Bro. Scotty, the father, and Mrs. Yolanda, the mother, participated in the interview and three of their children were in the room. Bro. Scotty was born and raised in Alba, Texas on the very same tree farm that he owns and operates today; he is also a deacon at our church. However, Mrs. Yolanda was born and raised in Guatemala. As a child she was raised Catholic, and is part of a large and growing family. She is one of eight children. Their family as well as anybody else in that culture celebrated their daughter’s 15th birthday with a Quinceañera which marked the transition from childhood to young womanhood. This was traditionally the first time the girls would wear make-up, nice