A Family Tradition
Quinceanera rite of passage for Hispanic girls
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Barry Halvorson Three generations of Villasana women, from left, grandmother Janie, daughter Briana Villasana and mom Dawn Villasana combined their creative talents to decorate and prepare for Briana's recent Quinceanera.

When she started planning her Quinceanera almost a year in advance, Briana Villasana knew exactly what she wanted - the kind of over-the-top, blowout event she's seen on television and read about in magazines and on the Internet.

What she got, thanks to mom, Dawn Villasana, and grandmom, Janie Villasana, was a more traditional event - and memories to last a lifetime.

"I wanted this big thing like Boling has never seen before," Briana said.

"But they explained it to me. If I had it to do over again, I'd do it the way we did it and I already know I want the same for my daughters. But if I did do something over, it would be the Mass and I would pay more attention to it. It turned out to be very emotional and everyone was crying."

In some Hispanic cultures, a Quinceanera, also commonly referred to as Mis Quince Años, or my 15th year, is a coming-of-age ceremony for girls marking the passage from childhood to being an adult and ready for marriage. Most historians speculate the tradition grew out of a combination of Spanish traditions brought by the Catholic Church during the age of conquistadors and an Aztec religious ceremony. While the Villasanas were reeling Briana in while making their plans, Elena Llanas was, if anything, trying to push her daughter Beth to do a little more for her Quinceanera.

Paying her respects to the Virgin Mary, Briana Villasana chose to have a traditional Quinceanera emphasizing the spiritual aspects of the the coming-of-age ceremony.

"She's always been a 'tom boy,'" Elena said. "What I really wanted was a fiesta with piñatas, sombreros and everything, but she wanted something a little more grounded. I think part of it was that, for once, I wanted her to be more a traditional daughter."

Like the Villasanas, the Llanases also placed a greater emphasis on the spiritual over the social part of the celebration.

"Beth was really involved in that part of it she picked her own Bible verses," Elena said.

Both of the families worship at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Boling and both girls' Quinceaneras were officiated by Rev. Dominic Antiwi-Boasiako. He said under the circumstances, he was happy to perform the special Mass.

"A Quinceanera is not just to celebrate a birthday," he said. "It is a reaffirmation of faith. It is also an understanding that the person has not graduated from their religious education, so I insist those I do are involved in our CCD program and want to know and study the Cathechism.

"A person should be active in their faith because part of the tradition is to renew the baptismal promise made on their behalf as a child and accept responsiblity for their own continuing Catholic education."

Elena said she was proud of her daughter for wanting to emphasize the spiritual portion of the tradition, a tradition she said faded in the Hispanic community over the years.

"I didn't have a Quinceanera when I was a girl because we just couldn't afford something like that," she said. "So when I was growing up, only a few people had one."

She explained that when she first moved to the Boling area in 1991 and discussed it with her students - she teaches at Boling High School - they had never heard about it or didn't know that much.

"They kind of knew about it as a coming-of-age party but didn't know about the Mass involved," she said. "And now a lot of people are having them but a lot don't have the Mass, so I don't really consider those to be a real Quinceanera. They're just having a big party."

In discussing her own event, Briana Villasana admitted that early in the process, she fell into the trap of looking forward more to the party than the Mass.

She attributed it in part to the emphasis various magazines and Web sites place on those aspects. She said she was also influenced by TV shows such as "My Sweet Sixteen," which focus on elaborate birthday celebrations.

Both families spent approximately a year planning and preparing for the event.

"It can be very costly," Elena Llanas said. "In fact, I told my daughter she could have a Quinceanera at 15 or a car at 16. And there were several times during the year where we had to make the decision to go out to eat or buy something and decided against it to save up for the Quinceanera."

Both families received financial assistance from friends and family to help offset some of the costs. That help is also part of the tradition with those contributing known as Padrinos.

"Each of the different traditional presents are bought by various family members," Elena said. "For example, the godparents purchase the dress. Others contribute toward the party, the food and the rental of the hall. But it still is expensive."

The Padrino system also helped make sure all of Beth's family had a chance to take part.

"Actually, one of the interesting parts was that while this is a Hispanic tradition we had a lot of Anglos involved," she said. "Everyone who has touched Beth - been part of her life since she was just 'itty-bitty' - were invited, regardless. And I was surprised so many of them attended."

In reflecting on their daughters' respective events, both moms said they now view their daughters in a different light.

"I've always known that as soon as she can, Beth is going to move out and be on her own," Elena said.

"And we talked about it beforehand. Beth told me during the planning that she can't grow up if I don't let her go. Seeing her during the Mass, I knew it was time to start letting her go."