“I have always wanted to have one—ever since I was little,” freshman Janice Barajas said.

Barajas is talking about her quinceañera (or “quince”), which is a celebration for Latin American girls when they turn 15.

Barajas has been planning for months to get all the details ready for her quince, which will take place in April.

Barajas has already booked her party venue—the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento—and has been fitted for her dress, a long strapless white gown with a blue design on the top.

“It’s really big and poofy, and it kind of looks like a wedding dress–but it’s not,” Barajas said.
“I also have a tiara.”

Barajas plans on celebrating her quinceañera like most other modern Latin American women—with a large party and hundreds of guests.

Along with the fun party side of the day also come the traditions signifying la quinceañera’s (also the name for the girl) transition from childhood to womanhood.

On the day of the quinceañera, Mass is held at a Catholic church for just la quinceañera, before celebrations with friends and family.

At bigger quinceañeras, la quinceañera chooses seven girls and seven boys to join her in a waltz.

There is also a father-daughter waltz, and a last doll ceremony, during which la quinceañera takes the last doll she received as a young girl and tosses it up in the air, much like a bride tosses her bouquet.

This again shows the transformation into womanhood and the abandonment of childish ways.

Senior Zaira Joaquin has also had a quinceañera complete with a “dusty rose” colored dress, Mass in the morning, and a catered party in a big reception hall in Orange County.

Joaquin started planning for the event about six months in advance, but she said that her parents helped her with a lot of the big things like booking the venue and finding a caterer.

Joaquin’s quinceañera was similar to the type of party that Barajas is planning.

Senior Maria Serrano, however has different feelings toward quinceañeras. She did her Sophomore Project on why she thinks quinceañeras have lost their traditional meaning and, consequently, their effect.

Girls mature earlier in today’s restless, fast-paced society, Serrano said.

“The only part that I wanted was the church part because I had already started wearing makeup and heels, and this was something that was supposed to begin when you turn 15,” she said.

Serrano had a smaller party at her house, although she did include the traditional necessities like the floor-length dress and tiara.

And her dress was not one of the “over-the-top poofy kind.”

Although Serrano’s ceremony wasn’t as fancy as some, she still admits it was an important day for her.

“As soon as you turn 14, you start thinking about turning 15,” she said. “(The 15th birthday) is the highlight of your life.”