A Latin-American Rite of Passage: the “Quinceañera”.

“Quinceañera” or “la fiesta Quinceañera” is a rite of passage for fifteen-year-old Latina girls in South America, Central America, and the Spanish speaking Caribbean islands.  Although rituals vary by country and family traditions, everywhere the objective is the same: to celebrate the transition of a young lady from girlhood into womanhood.  

 The word “quinceañera” (pronounced kenyseanyera) comes from the Spanish “quince” (fifteen) and “años” (years).  The origins of the “Quinceañera” tradition are traceable to the Aztecs, around 500 BC.  For them, fifteen was the age at which boys became warriors and girls became marriageable. The girls were presented to the community as the vital force of the tribe and its future, since they had the power to become mothers. The fifteen-year old Aztec girl was exhorted and instructed by the King in the duties of womanhood. In Aztec society the role of a woman was so crucial and respected, that the funeral honors for any woman who died in childbirth were the same as those displayed for a warrior who fell in battle. The celebration of today’s “Quinceañera” is the result of blending traditions between the Aztecs and the Spanish Catholic missionaries who landed in Mexico. The missionaries added Catholic religious significance to the Aztec event and named it   “Quinceañera” as per a tradition of the 16^th– centurySpain where the 15-year old daughters – of the nobility – were presented at a society gathering known as the “Quinceañeras” balls.

 There is no universal blueprint or template for the “Quinceañera” party. It varies by country, pocketbook and family. In most parts of South American there is no religious celebration, only the “Quinceañera” dance and/or reception. In most of Central America, on the other hand, a special mass is held in honor of the “Quinceañera” prior to the dance.

 Of the many “Quinceañera” traditions I discovered, two are worth mentioning: shoe switching and doll presentation.  

 The “Quinceañera” enters the festivities wearing flat shoes. After her entrance, the girl’s father exchanges her flat shoes for heels symbolizing that, from now on, she  is a  woman.

 As a sign of her new, grown-up status, the “Quinceañera” presents a porcelain doll to her younger sister, if she has one. Another symbolic gesture of the transition from childhood to adulthood where dolls no longer play a role in her life.      

 Unless you were brought up in or near a Hispanic community, you may not have heard of the “Quinceañera” tradition, where a young girl is symbolically escorted into womanhood by her family, in an event witnessed by her  friends and her community.