Tomorrow will be my first quinceanera. I and several other musicians at church will be playing a prelude and singing some spanish praise songs and hymns for the quinceanera of "Sara" a local girl who attends our youth group and whose mother and siblings attend our church as well.
We only have 500 people in our town, but a significant number of Hispanics. I'm acquainted with several of the families because I speak Spanish, and started giving English lessons to a young lady in our church a couple years ago. "Maria" and I have become good friends, and spend most of our time speaking in Spanish instead of English. I failed at my ESL efforts, but we haven't given up yet. It is one of Maria's friend's daughters that will be turning fifteen, and I think this will be a first for our little church. I look forward to the new role we can play in the lives of our Hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ, and I think this is a part of it.
For those of you who may not know, a quinceanera is celebration and ceremony for a girl when she turns 15. (quince) It is very similar to a wedding in both cost and appearance. There are attendants, fancy cake and other foods, a white dress and all the other wedding like trappings. Spanish families can spend an incredible amount of money on them. The picture I've included is a stock internet photo, but it gives some idea.
Wish us all luck, anyway!
3 comments:
I think a rite of passage ceremony is a wonderful idea, but this kind of celebration seems to be a bit over the top! However, I wish my parents had one for me. Its awesome!
We do a big deal thing on turning 13 at our house. 16 is pretty special, too. I have NO idea what we are going to do in a couple of weeks when Drew turns 18.
Too much fun! I wish our culture had some sort of "rite of passsage" that would celebrate our upcoming adulthood.
Hope you all had a wonderful day!
Lots of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans down here. So a quinceanera is a big deal, and one going on all the time with people we know.
One of our older daughter's best friend's had one for her and my daughter wanted one too. I was persona-non-grata around the house for a while after that. At least in my daughter's eyes.
The families truly spend as much as a typical wedding and all the festivities, and I couldn't comprehend shelling out that kind of money for a fifteenth birthday.
They are beautiful to attend, but I'm glad I didn't have cultural pressure to throw one for my two daughters.
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