...Quinceanera It is customary for all Latin American cultures to celebrate a coming of age party for their daughters called a quinceanera. Parents commemorate their beloved daughter’s transition from being a little girl to becoming a fifteen year old young lady by inviting family and friends to join in this huge event. A modern day young lady is celebrated with a ceremony, grand party with extravagant decorations, exquisite food, memorable toasts form the godparents, and usually wrapped up with a funky dance. Every little girl awaits the day when she will be treated and given the attention of a princess for a day. It was my pleasure to attend my cousin Daira’s quinceanera, and witness my first quinceanera in Mexico. It was a Saturday afternoon in Tijuana, Mexico as I arrived at the church. The streets were extremely narrow and they had cars parked on either side - trucks, vans, cars – making it nearly impossible for moving vehicles to run past each other. As I drove up I could not help but notice how all the buildings were built so close together, it was difficult to see where each building began. Once I paid closer attention to the houses I noticed the obvious iron gates which bordered each individual home. The buildings were poorly painted a peachy pink color it seemed as if we were in the middle of a rundown apartment complex because of how dirty each building seemed. Through the gates you could see people carrying on their normal daily routine in their homes like little...
Words: 2147 - Pages: 9
...my family and I were invited to attend a Quinceanera. The Quinceanera is a ceremonial rite of passage in which a young Hispanic girl is celebrating the ritual of symbolically marking the stage of life when she transitions from a young girl to a women. The Quinceanera I attended is celebrated with a religious mass at a catholic church and a party to follow at a venue. My family and I make way to a catholic church where everyone will be gathering for the Quinceanera to begin. I took part in a mass called Misa de accoin de gracias, or to give thanks for a completed childhood. I see the girl make her appearance by entering the church in procession with her parents, then followed by her grandparents. I look as she is seated at the foot of the church altar in an elaborate blue formal dress. I take notice that around her is seated her damas (maid of honors) and her chambelanes (escorts). I asked the people around me who they were and they explained to me that these are relatives or friends that are closest to her. Before the mass had started, I over hear the people talking about how the, the church service is the most beautiful part of the whole night. I take notice that everyone attending the mass mostly is Hispanic. I realize that the priest must of noticed the younger people, so he used Spanglish and sometimes English....
Words: 1078 - Pages: 5
...examples of this type of literature rage from Jane Eyre to a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks called We Real Cool. These two completely different types of literature have something very important in common, they teach a lesson to the reader or cause the reader to see the character’s transformation/realization and help them to grow. The short story A&P by John Updike and the poem Quinceanera by Judith Ortiz Cofer are two coming of age pieces of literature that can be related through their use of figurative language and imagery. Both of these pieces of...
Words: 683 - Pages: 3
...Life of many immigrants in the third country as foreigners have to face with new life challenges. They try to adapt and survive, but they still keep their culture which is not easy. Through the stories of Baca, Rodriguez, Fatima, and the film Quinceanera have shown us that, they are the representatives of the immigrants of working class. They want to exist in a civilized society, they need to overcome the barriers in their lives that is language. For many people in the host country, language is a simple matter, but it is really difficult for immigrants. Immigrants, especially the working class shows disparities in social class of American modern lifestyle through the language. Being immigrants are adapting to a new language that is not easy....
Words: 1619 - Pages: 7
...party, I did not see many people of my culture have a Quinceanera, but I would see friends or family friends have them. After attending a Quinceanera, my outlook on growing up into a woman became positive with seeing how those girls got celebrated. I went to a family friend’s Quinceanera party when I was younger, it was my first time attending one and I was surprised at the end to see such liveliness towards someone getting older. We all first went to the church as a custom to show the Quinceanera’s purity before becoming...
Words: 529 - Pages: 3
...There comes a time in a young girl’s life when she is considered a “women.” Usually when a girl turns 15 there is a tradition to follow known as a “Quinceañera” and this tradition typically involves a mass first and a party afterwards at a big reception with family and friends. I, on the other hand, did not follow that tradition, because my parent’s had something a little different in mind. When I was 5 year’s old I remember going to Disney world in Orlando, Fl and thinking it was a summer vacation, but I later realized we were celebrating my big sister Yazmine on her 15th birthday. Ten years later my parents decided to do the same thing with me, sort of like our own “small tradition.” After months of deciding where to go we concluded...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...Quinceañera is the Spanish word for a girl who is 15 years old. In the latin american culture, a quinceanera is an important time in a young girls life when she is being transformed from a young girl to young woman. A quinceanera is where a young latino girl go throughs her rite of passage into being transformed into a woman. In order to prepare for womanhood, girls were to learn the traditions for this social and religious coming of age ceremony. During the official religious rites of passage, the community would thank God for the future wives and mothers soon to come, and the young women would vow to serve the community both socially and religiously. Later, missionaries turned the coming of age ritual into a testimony of faith by the young women and to promise that they will become good...
Words: 1177 - Pages: 5
...of a quinceanera is that it is a Hispanic tradition of celebrating a young girls coming of the age fifteen. At a quincenera the girl would be wearing a ball gown, a tiara, cross or medal, a Bible or a prayer book, and a rosary. There will be a court that will be wearing gowns for the girls and tuxedos for the guys in the court. Normally all of her family members would attend unless they are sick or have a family problem or something along that line. Also, normally the guests would receive a small token or gifts, to commemorate at the celebration. The festivities should consist of food, music, and a choreographed dance or waltz which would be performed by the girl who they are celebrating and her court. There will also be a religious...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...waterfall cake. As a little girl, ones imagination gives endless possibilities and the Quinceañera dreamed of is not similar to the real Quinceañera. Some young girls did not have a clear image of the Quinceañera they wanted...
Words: 484 - Pages: 2
...A quiñceanera is a birthday tradition performed by people of many spanish speaking countries. Also being referred to as a Quince Años, meaning fifteen years, a quinceañera honors and celebrates the fifteen years of a girl's life. A quinceanera is not only a celebration a young girl’s birthday, but is also a recognition of her transition from childhood to womanhood. This tradition has been practiced in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Central and South America for centuries, dating back to 500 B.C, when it was first carried out by the Aztecs. Based on the same premises as it is today, a quinceanera at that time accentuated the arrival a woman into the community. Once Aztec girls turned fifteen, they were considered adults, and were expected to...
Words: 570 - Pages: 3
...One of the biggest traditions in my culture are quinceaneras. This tradition is the celebration of a young fifteen-year-old teenage girl entering womanhood within a household. For one night, the young teen is the center of attention while dancing in a glowing ball dress. Doesn't every teen girl wish to feel like a princess for a day? This celebration is meant to show the support and appreciation towards the maturing young woman. My family has always been a traditional Mexican family. Therefore, my family planned my quinceanera celebration years before I came of age. My quinceanera celebration most definitely highlighted the love my family had towards me. My feelings towards the celebration were many. I was scared at the thought of entering womanhood. What would happen after turning fifteen? Would I be alone and confused? Will I have everything I need in order to plan such large celebration? I felt adrift. The boss at the restaurant that I helped with at the time gifted me with a large amount of...
Words: 1225 - Pages: 5
...A Traumatic Quinceañera A 15 year old, previously healthy female presented to the pediatric emergency department with 3 days of hematemesis, worsening abdominal distention, and diffuse abdominal pain. Her emesis began as non-bloody, non-bilious, however over the past 2 days has progressed to become biluous and grossly bloody. She has had no bowel movement and no known flatus for 2 days. On the day of presentation, she was seen by her pediatrician who ordered an abdominal CT and subsequently referred her to the emergency department. Of note, 1 week prior to her presentation the patient celebrated her Quinceañera where she reports wearing a very tight corset and restricting her oral intake prior to the party to fit into her dress. Her discomfort may have persisted after her...
Words: 637 - Pages: 3
...In “Quinceañera”, Julia Alvarez uses her own childhood experiences to explain what a quinceañera is. First, Alvarez introduces the formal definition of “quinceañera”. According to Alvarez, a quinceañera is an elaborate and ritualized party in which families and friends gathering together to celebrate a young girl who has just turned fifteen years old, and is ready to turn into an adult. During the quinceañera, many of the lower-class families choose to celebrate with a cake while rich families will have their girls dressed up in an elegant and formal dress. Over the years, quinceañera have become more highly ritualized, they have added more symbolism to the event such as a tiara, fourteen girls and guys that the girl chooses to be in the party,...
Words: 267 - Pages: 2
...experiences and points of view, but every coming of age story contains essential truths about what it means to grow up. Both “Quinceanera” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “The Ball Poem” by John Berryman use symbolism to encompass the theme of loss of innocence and the death of childhood. Cofer’s poem “Quinceanera” tells the story of a young as she goes through the Mexican tradition of her 15th birthday. This celebration serves as a transition into adulthood. She describes the way in which her “dolls have been put away like dead children.” The dolls she has always played with are a symbol of herself. Her childhood is dying, and the dolls conjure up images of dead children purposefully to display this message. Similarly, the speaker is now responsible for “wash[ing her] own clothes and sheets from this day on.” This new chore is a symbol of how her new womanhood is viewed as both dirty and an unwanted...
Words: 476 - Pages: 2
...Ana Rodriguez Professor Aurora Abrera English Composition II 1302- 21083 10 March 2016 Quinceañera, Judith Ortiz Cofer In the poem “Quinceañera” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the poet illustrates the transformation from girlhood to womanhood using the perspective of the speaker a fifteen-year-old girl. What is a quinceañera, you might say. A quinceañera which means sweet fifteen in Spanish is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday. It originally came from Latin America. It is the celebration of the transition of a female’s transition from girlhood to womanhood or as others say that this is a special day when a girl transforms from a child to a young woman to maturity and knowing that this is a rather joyous occasion for Hispanic women. When...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
