Hey everyone today I have decided to touch on the topic of Quinceañera. If you haven't figured out what culture that's from that is from the Mexican culture. So in about 3 months my family is getting us begin to celebrate one of my nieces turning 15 (we're celebrating 3 just this late summer). It's exciting and kind of like a walk down memory lane since I had one a few years back. First off what is a Quinceañera? Well for those of you who aren't familiar with it is pretty much a Sweet Sixteen but a lot more complicated and it has a bit more meaning behind it. Let's start off with greeting the future Quinceañeras.
Congrats Chicas you're finally old enough to have a Quinceañera! If you are of Hispanic descent then you have grown up going to, hearing about, and seeing everything and anything about Quinceañera’s then you know what I'm talking about already. But for those of you girls who haven't really gotten into the whole Quinceañera thing that's okay, because we're going to cover all the details about a Quinceañera. For me growing up in a full household of a religious family that played in the church choir of the Spanish mass happened to bring a lot of people coming to my four sisters to have them teach their future Quinceañera’s and their chambelánes and/or damas how to do the entrance dance, waltz, the baile sorpresa and any other dances they wanted the girls and boys to learn. So from a young age I watched in amazement the toe stepping, occasional swearing, and drama amongst the birthday girls and their friends who were along for the ride as they evolved into these graceful dancers on the night of the Quinceañera.
The Origin of the Quinceañera
The Quinceañera traditions have been linked to the Aztec/Mayan rites of passage for young women and the Spanish traditions of introducing their young daughters into society; however, no one knows the exact birth of the Quinceañera. From what I learned from my church retreat for Quinceañera’s, they explained that the origins of the Quinceañera began originally with the boys coming of age from the Aztecs/Mayans. When boys came of age they were taken out to go hunt with the men upon their first kill they became men. For the girls when they came of age at fifteen they were being prepared for marriage. Their education was placed in the hands of the elder women of the community. Important tasks and traditions such as weaving, cooking, housekeeping and child rearing were passed down through generations to the next girl of appropriate age. During this time as well, the young girls were taught the modest behaviors of a married women and were expected to change according to tradition. When the Spaniards came to Mexico where the Aztec/Mayans lived they were at first shocked to see how they lived but over time they came to absorb the native people into Spain's vast empire, and fused Mexico's long-established Mesoamerican civilizations with European culture. One of their cultures that fused the two was the coming of age of their daughters. They both happened to line up at the same age and from there their blended culture brought on the celebration of the Quinceañera. After the conquest of the Spanish different religious and cultural pieces began to shape the tradition with a more religious focus from the Spanish. From both cultures from the early Mexico and the Spaniards their main focus was preparing their daughters for marriage and presenting them to their society. Religion became an important part of that as assimilation came forth between the natives of Mexico and the conquerors from Spain.
The Quinceañera Today
Today a Quinceañera is the Hispanic tradition of celebrating a young girl's coming of age aka her 15th birthday. The celebration embraces religious customs, and the virtues of family and social responsibility. The Quinceañera tradition celebrates the young girl (la Quinceañera), and recognizes her journey from childhood to maturity. The customs focus on God, family, friends, music, food, and dance. The Quinceañera celebration traditionally begins with a religious ceremony. A reception is held in the home or a banquet hall. The festivities include food and music, and in most, a choreographed waltz or dance performed by the Quinceañera and her Court. It is traditional for the Quinceañera to choose special friends to participate in what is called the Court of Honor. Usually, these young people are her closest friends, her brothers, sisters, cousins in general they are special people in her life with whom she wants to share the spotlight. The Quinceañera's Court of Honor can be comprised of all young girls (called Damas), all young men (called Chambelánes) or a combination of both. The Quinceañera traditionally wears a ball gown; with her Court dressed in gowns and tuxedos. Guests usually receive small tokens, cápias, to commemorate the celebration. Every year thousands of girls around Central America and the girls U.S. turn fifteen every day. Quinceañeras are an on going trend that is being celebrated more often. Quinceañera's before the 1960s were reserved for the upper classes or just to a simple church celebration with close family and friends. But as more families have immigrated to the U.S. and their communities have assimilated into American society, Quinceañera’s have spread across the United States and Latin America and are being celebrated in more ways now but still carry the title of Quinceañera. In 1987 the telenovela Quinceañera was introduced. The main girls in it were Thalia and Adela Noriega. This was the first telenovela that showed what a Quinceañera was and also the array of struggles and problems that teenagers can face during that time. Although the struggles and problems have changed since that time the concept of the Quinceañera still remains the same.
The Origin of the Quinceañera
The Quinceañera traditions have been linked to the Aztec/Mayan rites of passage for young women and the Spanish traditions of introducing their young daughters into society; however, no one knows the exact birth of the Quinceañera. From what I learned from my church retreat for Quinceañera’s, they explained that the origins of the Quinceañera began originally with the boys coming of age from the Aztecs/Mayans. When boys came of age they were taken out to go hunt with the men upon their first kill they became men. For the girls when they came of age at fifteen they were being prepared for marriage. Their education was placed in the hands of the elder women of the community. Important tasks and traditions such as weaving, cooking, housekeeping and child rearing were passed down through generations to the next girl of appropriate age. During this time as well, the young girls were taught the modest behaviors of a married women and were expected to change according to tradition. When the Spaniards came to Mexico where the Aztec/Mayans lived they were at first shocked to see how they lived but over time they came to absorb the native people into Spain's vast empire, and fused Mexico's long-established Mesoamerican civilizations with European culture. One of their cultures that fused the two was the coming of age of their daughters. They both happened to line up at the same age and from there their blended culture brought on the celebration of the Quinceañera. After the conquest of the Spanish different religious and cultural pieces began to shape the tradition with a more religious focus from the Spanish. From both cultures from the early Mexico and the Spaniards their main focus was preparing their daughters for marriage and presenting them to their society. Religion became an important part of that as assimilation came forth between the natives of Mexico and the conquerors from Spain.
The Quinceañera Today
Today a Quinceañera is the Hispanic tradition of celebrating a young girl's coming of age aka her 15th birthday. The celebration embraces religious customs, and the virtues of family and social responsibility. The Quinceañera tradition celebrates the young girl (la Quinceañera), and recognizes her journey from childhood to maturity. The customs focus on God, family, friends, music, food, and dance. The Quinceañera celebration traditionally begins with a religious ceremony. A reception is held in the home or a banquet hall. The festivities include food and music, and in most, a choreographed waltz or dance performed by the Quinceañera and her Court. It is traditional for the Quinceañera to choose special friends to participate in what is called the Court of Honor. Usually, these young people are her closest friends, her brothers, sisters, cousins in general they are special people in her life with whom she wants to share the spotlight. The Quinceañera's Court of Honor can be comprised of all young girls (called Damas), all young men (called Chambelánes) or a combination of both. The Quinceañera traditionally wears a ball gown; with her Court dressed in gowns and tuxedos. Guests usually receive small tokens, cápias, to commemorate the celebration. Every year thousands of girls around Central America and the girls U.S. turn fifteen every day. Quinceañeras are an on going trend that is being celebrated more often. Quinceañera's before the 1960s were reserved for the upper classes or just to a simple church celebration with close family and friends. But as more families have immigrated to the U.S. and their communities have assimilated into American society, Quinceañera’s have spread across the United States and Latin America and are being celebrated in more ways now but still carry the title of Quinceañera. In 1987 the telenovela Quinceañera was introduced. The main girls in it were Thalia and Adela Noriega. This was the first telenovela that showed what a Quinceañera was and also the array of struggles and problems that teenagers can face during that time. Although the struggles and problems have changed since that time the concept of the Quinceañera still remains the same.
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