Author Archives: Giselle Strong

Quinceanera- Porcelain Doll Tradition

Informant information 
Nationality: Hispanic American
Occupation: Teacher 
Residence: Nevada
Date of Performance/Collection: Apr 4, 2022
Primary Language: English 
Other Language(s): Spanish

Background 
My informant is my mom’s coworker and she is of Mexican descent. The context for this piece was talking about quinceañeras.

Performance
M- I had a quinceañera and there was about close to 300 people at my quince and like the big things that I remember is they get you this porcelain doll and that doll represents the last doll you ever have as a child so at some point during the quinceanera you’re sitting there with your doll and somebody comes whoever you choose will come and have a crown and your and your like heels they bring your heels and your crown to you you handover the door and you get your heels and crown which represents you letting go of your childhood and becoming a quote unquote “woman or a young lady” I have a she so my best friend her daughter is my goddaughter him and her family that I seen I guess it’s just certain parts of Mexico they have different you know but when the when the kids turned three they have like a mini quinceanera so she’s down the hall with her three daughters she ordered them a dress like a custom dresses made and it’s literally like does the whole church thing and has a huge party for her daughters and they literally like literally moon Quinceañeras and I can’t remember what it represents but her husband at the time his family was like that was their thing that was their tradition so that’s kind of cool. 

Thoughts
I have never attended a quince but I understand how important it is in a young girl’s life. I think the symbolism of trading the doll for the heels is really special. Some of my friends told me that they planned their quinces for years before they had the party.