NOTHING’S BETTER THAN A

QUINCEANERA.Denise Mejia

Anthropology 102Dr. Leanna Wolfe

November 20,2010

THE DRESS.This is Gisel’s dress and

bouquet for her special day. Traditionally for

Quinceaneras, girls wear white dresses to represent

their innocence. Before putting the dress

and shoes on, Gisel had to wake up early to get her hair and make-up done. This is usually the first day that girls are allowed to start

wearing make-up because they are now considered

adults.

GETTING READY.In this picture Gisel is

getting help from her mom to get dressed. During a Quinceanera a mother is

always the one that gets her daughter dressed. She is the

key element to the Quinceanera because she

oversees the party planning, the food, the dress and all

the other little details. With the help of relatives, the mother is usually the one

that makes the Quinceanera possible.

THE PARENTS.These two are the parents of Gisel. They are the ones that

decided to have a Quinceanera for her. Gisel did not want one

at first because she thought that it would of been a waste of money. Her parents decided to

throw her one because they thought it was an important aspect of their culture, every

girl in their family had had one before. They felt as if Gisel

would of regretted not having one. After seeing the whole

party and mass, Gisel couldn’t of been happier that her parents did let her have a

Quinceanera.

AND THE CHURCH BEGINS.

When everyone arrives at the church, the guests go

inside and take a seat while Gisel, her parents, godparents, and

chambelan(escort) line up outside so they could make

their entrance.Gisel’s chambelan is the

first one to enter the church, followed by the people holding the gifts,

followed by her godparents, and finally Gisel is escorted

inside by her parents.

THE PRAYER.During the mass, the father

asks Gisel to read an excerpt from the bible that reflects what she has been through up to that point in

her life. He also has her renew her faith in God, and Gisel without a doubt does it. As the mass continued the father made sure that

Gisel understood what she was saying as she renewed

her faith. He also explained what being an adult meant and what she had to do to

continue being on the right path.

FLOWERS FOR MARY.During the mass there is a

certain section that is dedicated to leaving the

Virgin Mary a bouquet of flowers. During this time Gisel is accompanied by

her parents and the person who gave her the

flowers and goes up to the Virgin Mary to leave her the flowers. Once she has offered them to her, they

all say the prayer, ‘Hail Mary’ five times and she also gives thanks to the

Virgin.

THE END OF THE CHURCH.

At the end of the mass, instead of Gisel being

escorted out by her parents, she was escorted out by her chambelan. The chambelan

is a representation of the father acknowledging the fact that his daughter is

now an adult and she is not able to date, although most fathers are never okay with

their daughters dating at any age. In Gisel’s case her chambelan was her cousin,

Gerardo.

THE PRESENTATION.Gisel is being presented

by her father to her guests now that she has passed

from childhood to adulthood. This is usually done to present the new adult in the family. When presenting his daughter, Gisel’s father started in one corner of the room

and walked her around the room so everyone can get

a good look at her.

THE WALTZ.One tradition of all

Quinceaneras is the waltz. Although there are different waltz the most typical is the

father/daughter waltz, and the one of the Quinceanera and

her chambelanes and court. At Gisel’s Quinceanera they

started the waltz off with a father daughter choreographed

danced. Shortly after Gisel’s chambelan asked the dad for

permission to cut in and finish the dance with Gisel.

Following their dance Gisel danced with her godparents

and anyone else that would of liked to dance with her.

THE TOAST.Shortly after the waltz,

family and friends make a toast in honor of the

birthday girl Gisel. They say what memories

they have with her and what kind of person she is. This toast usually happens right before the dancing

begins. In a way, the toast sets the tone for the party.

THE PARTY.After the toast was done, the

DJ began to play, from spanish to techno to hip-hop to reggae the crowd got up to dance. Not

one minute of the party was wasted. The birthday girl Gisel, did not sit down or take a break throughout the night. She took

advantage of her party and made sure that everyone else

did because as soon as the music began to play she went

out into the crowd and began to pull everyone out to dance,

although most of them did not last as long as she did.

THE CAKE.This cake was a gift from

one of the friends’s of Gisel’s mom. During Quinceaneras family

friends and relatives oftenhelp the parents pay for all the expenses. They often give them what they can

with no expectation to get the money back.

THE FINAL DANCE.

At the end of the night, Gisel and her

friends ended itwith a traditional line dance called,

“El Caballo Dorado.”