My informant is a student with deep connections to her hispanic culture. During her teenage years she would go on several family trips to Mexico in which she participated in or witnessed folklore.  She shared with her recollection of her Quinceneara, which is a Mexican right of passage celebrating a woman’s transition into Adulthood. She explained the traditions of the Quinceneara and what it meant to her:

Informant:

“in Hispanic culture it is supposed to symbolize the transition from girl to women and I disagreed with that. I believe that at 15 you are pretty much a child and I did not feel confortable throwing a party to kiss goodbye my childhood. But yeah a quinceanera in Hispanic culture is supposed to celebrate that a girl is becoming a grown up. That was something that overwhelmed me as a 14 year old.

I did celebrate that (The Quinceneara) in Mexico. I had a trio that sang the mananitas for me then we went to mass and had a celebration in a reception. We did have live music and I had the doll that quinceaneras get and I danced the vals with whom ever wanted to dance with me.”

My analysis:

The Quincenearas are a cultural initiation ritual intended to transition a person from a girl into a woman.  As my informant told me, it signals the end of childhood, which not all persons going through the ritual may want. From talking to my informant, I gathered that at that age, she was not exactly sure about the cultural implicationsHowever, the transition to adulthood is a part of life that is unavoidable, and in this ritual the woman’s entire family and friends celebrate that together to mark this distinction.