Quinceañeras

A quinceañera is the celebration of a Latina girl's 15th birthday. From the Spanish word quince, meaning “15,” a quinceañera marks the end of a girl's childhood and entrance into adulthood and womanhood. The term quinceañera means both the celebration itself and the 15-year-old girl. For some families, the celebration of their daughter's 15th birthday is symbolic of a girl's freedom to date and her growing responsibilities as a young woman. Today, quinceañeras are celebrated throughout Latin America and the United States in cities with large numbers of Latino people.

Some scholars believe that a girl's 15th birthday was considered highly significant to the Aztec people who ruled present-day Mexico and parts of the western United States before the arrival of the Spanish in ...