MANY say a quinceañera is an experience that you will never forget, and I can certainly agree that I will never forget mine. If you don’t know what a quinceañera is, it is a Hispanic tradition that celebrates a girl’s fifteenth birthday. This is why quinceañeras include many traditions such as the last doll, ceremony, the waltz, etc. The roots of this cultural tradition tie back to Mexico, but it spreads all over Latin America.

We started planning my quinceañera over a year ago, and we weren’t sure how to begin. We started by asking families who have experience doing a quinceañera. We also had been following a choreographer on TikTok and Instagram. She was extremely helpful with many, many details.

Alina, my cousin who shared the quinceañera with me, found a dress shop on TikTok. When walked into the dress shop, my cousin and I knew immediately which dress we wanted. At first, I wanted a green dress, but once my cousin pointed out a lilac dress on display, we both knew that we wanted that dress. It was a beautiful lilac dress that lit up and had amazing floral details. We got our dresses, bears, jewelry, and bouquets from that shop.

Two months before the actual quinceañera, we began learning the dances. For me, this meant flying down every weekend for the entire month of January up until the day of the quinceañera. We always left Thursdays after school and stayed in a hotel where the practices were. The practices were held at my uncle and aunt’s house in Santa Ana. I loved their house. Every person part of the court came along with their parents. We had an amazing time because each practice was fun, and it was such a beautiful experience.

The week of the quinceañera, I took the week off from school and flew to California. I could barely sleep, and I was so anxious. The only thing on my mind was if I would forget the dance. We spent the week going over all the small and big details, like getting ourselves ready such as our nails, lashes, and outfits. We also made sure all the damas and chambelanes were prepared as well. We had one last dance practice with our dresses on, and I couldn’t believe how heavy it was.

On the day of the quinceañera, I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and my grandma made breakfast. We all were talking about how excited we were. At 10:00 a.m., a hairstylist and make-up artist came and began getting us ready. They did our hair and make-up until 2:15 p.m., and we quickly got into our dresses. At 3:00 p.m., our party bus arrived, and we left. We went to the Soboba Country Club to take pictures with the court and then drove to the venue.

When we arrived, we greeted guests and went to our seats. When everyone arrived, we had dinner which was red rice, beans, and meat served with chips and salsa.

Then began with the Native American ceremony. We had Jacque Tahuka-Nunez come to bless me and my cousin with eagle feathers. After the ceremony, we had the waltz/vals then the family dance. Then we began with the tradition “The Last Doll” which is a tradition where a younger sibling or cousin brings you your, “Last toy or doll.”

We did our speech/brindis and then gifted our padrinos and madrinas. Padrinos and madrinas are people who help with the quinceañera in any way. We did our surprise dance, then we started dancing. We all took plenty of pictures and danced all night long. We ended the night with one last song. We drove to my grandma’s and fell asleep quickly. We went home two days later and talked about it for days. I loved the whole experience from the most stressful times to the most fun times. I’m so thankful for the chance to celebrate my birthday with my best friend.