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NOTHING’S BETTER THAN A
QUINCEANERA.Denise Mejia
Anthropology 102Dr. Leanna Wolfe
November 20,2010
THE DRESS.This is Gisel’s dress and
bouquet for her special day. Traditionally for
Quinceaneras, girls wear white dresses to represent
their innocence. Before putting the dress
and shoes on, Gisel had to wake up early to get her hair and make-up done. This is usually the first day that girls are allowed to start
wearing make-up because they are now considered
adults.
GETTING READY.In this picture Gisel is
getting help from her mom to get dressed. During a Quinceanera a mother is
always the one that gets her daughter dressed. She is the
key element to the Quinceanera because she
oversees the party planning, the food, the dress and all
the other little details. With the help of relatives, the mother is usually the one
that makes the Quinceanera possible.
THE PARENTS.These two are the parents of Gisel. They are the ones that
decided to have a Quinceanera for her. Gisel did not want one
at first because she thought that it would of been a waste of money. Her parents decided to
throw her one because they thought it was an important aspect of their culture, every
girl in their family had had one before. They felt as if Gisel
would of regretted not having one. After seeing the whole
party and mass, Gisel couldn’t of been happier that her parents did let her have a
Quinceanera.
AND THE CHURCH BEGINS.
When everyone arrives at the church, the guests go
inside and take a seat while Gisel, her parents, godparents, and
chambelan(escort) line up outside so they could make
their entrance.Gisel’s chambelan is the
first one to enter the church, followed by the people holding the gifts,
followed by her godparents, and finally Gisel is escorted
inside by her parents.
THE PRAYER.During the mass, the father
asks Gisel to read an excerpt from the bible that reflects what she has been through up to that point in
her life. He also has her renew her faith in God, and Gisel without a doubt does it. As the mass continued the father made sure that
Gisel understood what she was saying as she renewed
her faith. He also explained what being an adult meant and what she had to do to
continue being on the right path.
FLOWERS FOR MARY.During the mass there is a
certain section that is dedicated to leaving the
Virgin Mary a bouquet of flowers. During this time Gisel is accompanied by
her parents and the person who gave her the
flowers and goes up to the Virgin Mary to leave her the flowers. Once she has offered them to her, they
all say the prayer, ‘Hail Mary’ five times and she also gives thanks to the
Virgin.
THE END OF THE CHURCH.
At the end of the mass, instead of Gisel being
escorted out by her parents, she was escorted out by her chambelan. The chambelan
is a representation of the father acknowledging the fact that his daughter is
now an adult and she is not able to date, although most fathers are never okay with
their daughters dating at any age. In Gisel’s case her chambelan was her cousin,
Gerardo.
THE PRESENTATION.Gisel is being presented
by her father to her guests now that she has passed
from childhood to adulthood. This is usually done to present the new adult in the family. When presenting his daughter, Gisel’s father started in one corner of the room
and walked her around the room so everyone can get
a good look at her.
THE WALTZ.One tradition of all
Quinceaneras is the waltz. Although there are different waltz the most typical is the
father/daughter waltz, and the one of the Quinceanera and
her chambelanes and court. At Gisel’s Quinceanera they
started the waltz off with a father daughter choreographed
danced. Shortly after Gisel’s chambelan asked the dad for
permission to cut in and finish the dance with Gisel.
Following their dance Gisel danced with her godparents
and anyone else that would of liked to dance with her.
THE TOAST.Shortly after the waltz,
family and friends make a toast in honor of the
birthday girl Gisel. They say what memories
they have with her and what kind of person she is. This toast usually happens right before the dancing
begins. In a way, the toast sets the tone for the party.
THE PARTY.After the toast was done, the
DJ began to play, from spanish to techno to hip-hop to reggae the crowd got up to dance. Not
one minute of the party was wasted. The birthday girl Gisel, did not sit down or take a break throughout the night. She took
advantage of her party and made sure that everyone else
did because as soon as the music began to play she went
out into the crowd and began to pull everyone out to dance,
although most of them did not last as long as she did.
THE CAKE.This cake was a gift from
one of the friends’s of Gisel’s mom. During Quinceaneras family
friends and relatives oftenhelp the parents pay for all the expenses. They often give them what they can
with no expectation to get the money back.
THE FINAL DANCE.
At the end of the night, Gisel and her
friends ended itwith a traditional line dance called,
“El Caballo Dorado.”