Quinceañera Research Paper

Decent Essays
5 Conclusion
Comparing the Quinceañera and the Sweet 16 celebration, it turns out that they have many points in common but differ as well. Starting with the similarities, both developed through anterior coming of age ceremonies, and are only celebrated by girls. They both are rite of passage ceremonies, which honor the completed childhood of the girl and celebrate the beginning of the new life chapter as a woman. The girls make new experiences and have to face more responsibilities by turning 15, or in the case of America turning 16. The celebrations share several customs which are a symbol of transitioning to a woman. Furthermore, important features of both ceremonies are mostly dancing, food and having a good time with beloved people, although
…show more content…
Apart from that, Sweet 16 parties are more personalized and can be very different, because they follow no certain plan. Moreover, religion plays an integral part in the mexican celebration, regarding the church mass and religious gifts, whereas in America it is not as important. It is common to celebrate with the whole family and all friends at a Quinceañera party, while in America it depends on the girl and the birthdays are often celebrated in smaller rounds. Additionally, a Sweet 16 party is usually not as formal as the celebrations in Mexico, where everybody dresses up. Regarding the music at American ceremonies, it is not as traditional as it is in Mexico. A special feature of a Quinceañera is the ending, which includes a shared breakfast the next morning. Differences referring to food would be that Mexican specialities are served at Quinceañeras and the food is partly self-made, which creates a familial atmosphere. In America, it is only cooked by the family at smaller parties. The only customs which differ are the Court of Honor, the last doll and piñatas performed in Mexico, whereas in America the candle ceremony is part of the ceremonies. All in all it can be said, that the celebrations are similar to each other and have the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Some are more more predominant in the plot then others are but they all variate in their motives. For example, family parties and feasting are one of the most common exemplified traditions all throughout Like Water For Chocolate. The De la Garza family often gets together after Tita and Chencha cook large feasts. The purpose of family feasting is to really host a large communion after long periods of not being seeing together. The parties allow everyone to exchange feelings, reminisce and update each other on how each others lives are going.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Have you ever been to or even know what a quinceanera is? A quinceanera is a celebration of a young girl becoming 15. A quinceanera is very important to a teenaged girl because it resembles a young girl becoming a woman. People think that quinceanera is just a party for fun but in reality it is a party that is sometimes very emotional for parents.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marlén Mendoza Quinceañera I can still remember the limo, the photo shoots, the cake and that magnificent ice sculpture at the center of my dessert table. That day the venue was filled with over three hundred attendees from family to friends to even strangers but none of it mattered because on June 6, 2008, I became a Quinceañera. To many of my non-Latino friends this description of my party might sound like a wedding but it is not, on the contrary it is a rite of passage. Although now more extravagant it still holds true to its roots, practices like the coronation, toast, changing of the shoes, and white attire are all symbols vital to the demonstration of coming of age for a Latina turning fifteen. Quinceañera literally translates…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Days of the dead and Halloween sound pretty similar considering Halloween and dead kind of match with the spookiness, anyway i'm going to explain some similarities and differences such as how they celebrate it , different foods and just in general how they are different because despite their similarities there more different than you think. One way their different is how they celebrate it in mexico they celebrate Dias de los muertos (Days of the Dead) with a huge celebration with tons of food and la mascara (masks) unlike Halloween in which they celebrate it mostly at night with scary monsters, witches , vampires and more , in Halloween they also go trick or treating and you gets tons of candy , which days of the dead they don't…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Latin American culture regards a “Quinceañera” as an adolescent girl’s entrance into womanhood at the tender age of 15 (“quince años” meaning 15 years of age/15 years old). Traditionally, this coming-of-age celebration was intended “to introduce girls to society and signify they were ready for marriage” (Quinceañera: Coming of age in a bad economy by Nancy Lofholm of The Denver Post). Nowadays, this momentous occasion recognizes girls as women who are capable of wearing makeup and dating.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American equivalent to a quinceanera could be one of two things: a sweet sixteen party or an eighteenth birthday. Debutante balls are the Victorian equal to the modern sweet…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Quinceañera Tradition

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Then the guests and the quinceañera will dance to one last song. Today, a quinceañera celebration is often an extravagant party that may include a mariachi band, a feast and many guests- very similar to a wedding. Planning for a quinceañera can start as early as the birth of a daughter, the family and godparents save up money until the girl is of age fifteen. Actual quinceañera preparations may take anywhere from six months to a year and a half; dances have to be learned, decorations decided upon, cakes ordered, and in some cases, dresses have to be…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Originating from Mexico, quince is typically celebrated in Latin America and the United States. As with many coming-of-age ceremonies, the Quinceanera, the rite of passage to adulthood, is significant to Hispanic culture. Because it’s such a special event, families usually save for years before a Quinceanera to provide the young woman with a lavish and special ceremony. Putting the magnificence into perspective, sometimes families will spend more money than they would on a wedding.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Quinceanera Celebration

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The celebration takes place in a church and then a reception at the family's home or a reception hall. The celebration itself is called a Quinceañera and the birthday girl is called the Quinceanera as well. The Quinceañera began taking place in European cultural traditions among the Aztec Indians because in that time…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Quinceanera

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Quinceaneras usually consists of family members because you want the people that mean the most and you and be perfect with you on this important day, that you will remember for the rest of your life. If i had a quinceanera it was going and be mostly friends because my family doesn’t live here. The court of the quinceanera mostly consists of cousins from the same age and…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Quinceanera Tradition

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Every Hispanic girl dreams about the day that they get the chance to have a Quinceanera. What is a quinceanera, you ask? It’s a very important Hispanic tradition that symbolizes a girl becoming a woman and taking on the responsibilities of an adult female. They celebrate it when the girl turns 15. It is not only to honor the young woman for her maturity, but also to her parents and family, as well as her padrinos (godparents).…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Embracing My Quinceanera

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Embracing your culture can show you things that you never knew about yourself or your culture. The moment that I embrace my culture was when I had my quinceanera. Having my quinceanera taught me things about myself and about my culture that I never knew about. A quinceanera is when a Chicana / Latina teenager turns 15 and it is a passage to womanhood. She has a big party to celebrate her and her passage of becoming a woman called a quinceanera.…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Quinoa Research Paper

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Benefits of Quinoa Quinoa is a grain that's kind of hard to describe. It's not exactly a cereal, but neither is it a leafy vegetable, although it's related to the spinach family. While it's mainly consumed by vegetarians, anyone can enjoy the benefits. You can add it as a side dish to be eaten with beef or pork. Vegetarians know that quinoa is gluten-free, has several indispensable amino acids and is high in potassium, vitamins B and E, magnesium, calcium, iron and other pertinent antioxidants.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When a girl celebrates her Quinceañera, it signifies the girl becoming a “woman” and soon could leave the comfort of the home to make her own family. It is supposed to mean that she is to receive a family, her husband, and children. Yet for me that is impossible because of the news I had received two days before my “special” party. I remember the day so clear as it was yesterday. I remember that my cousins would be arriving soon to help my parents to prepare the food and then get the tables.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mexican Wedding Essay

    • 1581 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Everyone Mother, Father, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, and even close friends who may not be related but are close enough to be considered part of the family hold an important role preparing the celebration. although it 's said many people play a role during this time, the couple chose two individuals that act as mentors and sponsors of the couple throughout the period to engagement and marriage. The mentors and sponsors also known as godparents help the couple emotional and financially in the aspect of assisting the couple financially but focusing more on guiding the couple during their marriage. Financially assistance also comes from this important people for the bride and the groom, they assist on paying for the expenses of the party typically each is assign an expense, such as the purchase of the bride’s dress, the grooms suit, the rental of the reception, the food, the music, the decoration, the limousin, basicly anything that is needed for the wedding, the bride and the groom are expected to contribute little towards the expenses, both families are in charge of the financial spending of the wedding this is typically because the groom and the bride need to save their money to be spend towards the building of their new home or…

    • 1581 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays