Amina’s dress is simply magnificent.
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@Tony Francis So gorgeous!!
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It's wonderful to see how these young women of mixed Latin heritage are drawing upon their Latin backgrounds create a quinceanera that reflects their values.
28
Cultural appropriation at its finest.
6
@Lisa - “Cultural appropriation at its finest”
Does your self-righteous virtue signalling make you feel that you have caused anyone to think differently? So what if it is cultural appropriation?
Rock and roll played by whites is, by your standards, cultural appropriation. So should we “cancel” white artists who play it?
The essence of art and life is to change, grow and improve. How exactly does one do that in a sterile cultural environment?
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@Lisa both girls have a Latin American parent. Whose culture are they appropriating?
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Oh I see it’s okay to have a Bar mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah or sweet sixteen but GOD FORBID THE QUINCE
8
Makes me want to have a quadruple quince next year!!
37
I lived in NYC during my youth and I have no memories of Puerto Ricans with this 15 years ritual.
4
Disgusting cultural appropriation.
No?
Oh, that's right. No white kids in this story. What was I thinking ...
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Total nitpick here: the caption of the photo of Amina on the horse says she is "astride"--which means riding with one leg on either side of the animal. Escaramuza riders traditionally ride side saddle, using a special saddle that places both of the rider's legs on the left side of the horse. Escaramuza (it literally means skirmish) is enormously beautiful and equally exciting to watch. Congratulations to Amina for continuing THIS tradition.
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"'Quinceañeras, like other Latinx celebrations in the U.S., are important for a positive identity and space in a political moment where Latinxs are constantly portrayed as social deviants with no place to belong,' she said."
How did she pronounce Latinxs? I don't think she said this. I think she wrote it in an email or text message to the reporter, and I wonder how much she really knows about Hispanic traditions. No one in the real world uses that word.
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@Arundo Donax Actually, I hear this pronounced pretty often, mainly by younger people (Millennials and younger). It's just pronounced "latin-ex".
I expect it varies by age and geography.
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"Quinceañeras like Jayla’s are an integral part of the experiences of young women in Latin America and throughout the United States."
In SOME countries of Latin America. The NYT should know better than put all under the same umbrella. In Chile, Argentina and Brazil (and probably others I'm not aware of) a girl's 15th birthdays are pretty much than American Sweet Sixteens.
11
The money spent on these expensive coming out parties should be used for future educational needs.
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So here in Mexico, the “quinces”’ are the ultimate aspirational celebration for middle and lower class families.
People usually get into debt in order to throw a party they consider “lavish”, when most of the educated and smart population just roll their eyes at the tackiness of it all.
And yes, it is true that the “quinces” origins are fully rooted in the most cruel and despicable machismo.
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@Jesus Deluna exactly. None of my highly educated female cousins in Colombia would have been caught dead having a quinceañera. And thankfully for their teenage daughters the focus is on achieving academic excellence and preparing for a future of economic independence so they will never have to depend on a man.
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Amina- that dress is fantastic! I hope you had a great time at your celebration. Your style is absolute fire!!!
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So....this kind of cultural appropriation is okay? But it's not ok for girls who aren't Hispanic to wear hoop earrings. We need a rule book. It's confusing.
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@Working mom I'm a 69-year old white female who has worn hoop earrings since I had my ears pierced at the age of 18. I wear anything I choose and don't worry about cultural appropriation.
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If white people did this sort of thing they would be accused of cultural appropriation.
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@Mon Ray " White " people of all origins should be proud of their heritage. I am. I attend Scottish and Irish festivals which fill me with pride. I attend Pow Wows and Mayan Festivals. I am proud of who I am and of my ancestors. THE ONLY PEOPLE WITH ISSUES ABOUT OTHER CULTURES ARE THOSE WHO DONT EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE. OR DONT CARE.
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@Mon Ray
Let me remind you there are millions of white Hispanics. This is not a race-thing but a cultural thing, more specifically, a Mexican tradition (maybe also celebrated in other countries).
26
This is cool
4
I really enjoyed watching Amina celebrate her quinceanera and there is so much more not presented on the article that went on that day in Bakersfield. I read all the comments so far and to me the only thing that mattered that day was if my grand daughter was happy. She was very happy to be with family and friends when so many people drove for hours to be with her. I am a Christian Grand father very proud of my Muslim/ American grand daughter and the job her mom has done in her life. That day is a day she will never forget. THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT.
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@ROBERTO HENDERSON I'd love to have been able to give this about 20 thumbs-up! Blessings to you and your family!
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I don't mean to diminish the celebrations profiled in the article , but it's always been my understanding that a quinceanera is a religious event, signifying a young woman's devotion to her Catholic faith and representing her transition to adulthood. To see the quinceanera become an extravaganza of opulence and pop culture is disconcerting, and I really don't get the whole "double quince" concept.
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@Allison The tradition came from Spain. As a Mayan man, I can tell you that our culture took on some imported traditions and put a different spin on them. to make it our own. My grand daughter is Muslim but she still wanted to honor the tradition.
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Very good article. For if someone doesn’t know the meaning of the feminine quinceañera (or quinceañero, masculine) just say that it combines two Spanish words: quince (fifteen) and a derivation of año (year), the full word meaning someone that is 15 years old.
10
Another sex-segregated ritual whose origins trace back to patriarchal ownership of daughters and male supremacist religious customs. But we're supposed to ignore all that because now it's becoming "ethnically diverse." Now all sorts of females from all sorts of religions, ethnicities and races can normalize gender binary stereotypes. Equal opportunity sexism. I'll be impressed when a ritual in which a female celebrates becoming an adult means she now has the agency to tell her father that he has no right to decide "how much skin" is "religiously appropriate" for her to show or not.
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Thank you for your comment!!! So agree with you!
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@Amy Luna Hey! She's 15. Yes, her parents can dictate how much skin she shows.
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@Amy Luna
Well, I guess you would like us to drop Sweet 16 parties too?
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This is why the use of "latinx" is so problematic. Because it implies that fluid genders is part of the conversation when they are not.
24
It's just called a sweet sixteen. They've been going on for years in the US. Quince...is just the name for the Mexican celebration. It's great that young girls have them. I just hate to see them renamed and packaged as if this is something new and made much more commercial than they ever were suppose to be.
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@East Roast Sweet 16s and quinces have different histories. Quinces have a much longer history than sweet 16s (they date to pre-columbian times.) A quince is not a Mexican sweet 16, just as a Catholic confirmation is not a "Catholic Bar Mitzvah" even though both are done at the age of 13 and involve coming into the religious community as an adult. The sweet 16s are not getting "renamed," if anything people with Latin heritage previously had to rename their quince something else to assimilate with white American culture. Now the growth of quinces is a return to regional pride. Why do you hate that?
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@East Roast PROBLEM ALERT; Not everyone out here is Mexican. Additionally, quinces are a Spanish tradition , not a Mexican tradition.
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Nope, not a sweet 16 party. The “quince” is for girls when they are fifteen, that’s what the name means.
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Another great example of why we should ignore sophomoric outcries of “cultural appropriation” whenever they arise.
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I'm sure the original meaning of this event was for a father to present his daughter as eligible for marriage to the community. That's no reason not to embrace a custom that, among Latinos in this country, has come to be a celebration of young womanhood, just as the bar mitzvah celebrates a young Jewish man coming of age.
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@HKGuy
In Mexico the custom was to attend Mass, have the young girl dressed in a white dress, and then have a large family dinner in thanks. It was like a coming out party, for family and friends. However, now it has become ridiculous and exaggerated. Parents waste large amounts of money on clothes, attendants, ballrooms, limos and a number of other things. They have set aside the religious and family reasons for having a quinceanera. Parents have gone into debt for this party. Usually, it is the children of the 1st and 2nd generation who hold these events. By the 3rd and 4th generation these parties are not celebrated. It would be better if parents saved the money for the girls education.
19
The young lady in the full black patterned dress, standing in the grove, looks like she could have been taken right out of a painting by Velazquez of young members of the Spanish Court.
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@Bob Exactly! I couldn't get into all the politics...I found her so extraordinary!
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@Bob THAT IS MY BEAUTIFUL GRAND DAUGHTER AMINA. A PROUD MUSLIM AMERICAN. THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENT
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@Bob GLORIOUS is what sprung to my mind.....the young woman and that beautiful dress!
13
As someone of mixed heritage who was never taught much about the customs and history of the ethnicities that make up her background, I think these young ladies are fortunate to be able to know about, and to celebrate, all sides of their families.
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@JoanP I AGREE ,. THERE HAS BEEN TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON NATIONALITY AND NOT ON ETHNIC PRIDE. WE ALL SHOULD BE PROUD OF OUR ETHNICITY. I GREW UP PROUD THAT WE WERE CELTIC AND NATIVE AMERICAN AND I HAVE PASSED THAT ON TO THE FAMILY FEATURED ON THIS ARTICLE. MY FAMILY
30
What a fantastic article! Thanks so much for sharing these great stories and especially for the pictures. I love this.
20
More proof that culture evolves with the times- and different cultures borrow from others- that is life and human nature.
For example, most people know that the reason Christmas is celebrated in December is that the early Christians co-opted a pagan holiday- it was a good marketing ploy as they tried to gain membership. Today's Christians should be so welcoming.
26
I like the way this generation of multicultural young women are mixing and shaking things up and making personal statements with these celebrations that have symbolic nods to their upbringing and families. Princess stereotypes? Nope. Empowered young women? Yep.
61
Nice sales pitch. No thanks. If I had a daughter, I would celebrate her birthday in some other way. I have talked to parents who spent huge sums of money (money they often borrow, money they often dont have) on swanky parties for their daughters, entirely dismissing the fact that in 2 years, their child will need money for college applications, visits to the campus, etc. how about a trip that could be more enriching?. These type of parties continue to perpetuate typical roles for young women: The Princess Stereotypes. ARggh, I am totally disappointed NYT. Do not glorify the princess role for young women.
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@Ying Yang
The examples in the article do the opposite - these parties are atypical...that's the point. Just because you see a fancy dress doesn't mean the girl is automatically inducted into the princess stereotype. Guess what? For their families this is an enriching experience. I can't speak to the finances of these individual families and thus refrain from judging how they spend their money on their celebrations.
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@Dancechick How about looking at it from the young woman's perspective? My daughter was born in Guatemala and I adopted her when she was a baby. We've visited Guatemala and we know several other Guatemalan adopted children but she longs for more ties to her culture. She has talked about a quinceanera for years and wants to celebrate both her coming of age but her dedication to her culture. I think it's lovely. And trust me, my daughter does not at all think about the princess thing you point out - it's about culture for her plain and simple.
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@Ying Yang I get where you're coming from, but to me, feminism is about having choices. The choice to be a construction worker, a CEO, a professional athelete...and, yes, even a princess. Saying it's not OK to be princess for a day is boxing women in just as much as saying it's not OK to play with trucks.
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When we lived in New Mexico it was always great to go to a local park and see the kids all dressed up taking pics for the event. While on a visit to Chicago we happened upon one by Millennium Park where photos were being taken also. Such a lovely thing to see these kids invoking both the old and new into their culture.
51
@Aimee A. I was in a friend's quinceanera, in Chicago, when I was 14, and to this day (I'm 50) it was one of the most fabulous days of my life! I am not Hispanic, so this was a tremendous treat for me.
The beautiful, swinging burgundy gown with the hoop slip, curvaceous white rosettes all over, fancy shoes, long gloves, fake floral fascinator in my hair, the choreographed waltz where my partner was a handsome and tall 17 year old......and foooood and dancing FOREVER.
Really it was like a wedding but MUCH more fun.
19