Skilled hands work meticulously, styling hair and applying makeup to enhance freshman Leydi Sandoval Ramirez’s natural beauty. Donning a poofy, shiny red dress brings her closer to the image she will be presenting to the world, ready to celebrate her age milestone.

Celebrated by the Hispanic and Latino community, a Quinceañera usually occurs on a girl’s 15th birthday. According to Britannica, it highlights the girl’s transition from childhood into womanhood. This event requires a large venue to hold many relatives, family and friends, a ceremony and much catering. In addition to the girl’s hair, makeup and dress, Sandoval went for planning months ahead of time so that on the day of her Quinceañera things won’t be so stressful.

“It took about seven or eight months to plan it out because you usually try to plan it way beforehand, so you don’t have that much stress before the party comes,” Sandoval said. “For the venue, my mom actually worked there so it was really easy to find. For the decorations and items we asked people who had already had their Quinceañeras on where they got their stuff from, so we could also get our own [decorations]. And on the morning of the actual Quinceañera, I went to go get my hair done and my makeup done.” 

Quinceañeras have existed for centuries. According to Renaissance Miami, this event started around the 5th century B.C. in Mexico. Traditions include El Vals de Honor (The Waltz of Honor), a dance between the girl and her father or fatherly figure that shows the father’s vital role in the daughter’s life, and Cambio de Zapatillas (Changing of Shoes), a part of the ceremony where a family member changes a girl’s flats or sneakers to heels, further signifying the switch of childhood to womanhood.

“I did everything by tradition,” freshman Kimberly Cruz Melger said. “I did the mother and father dance plus gift exchange. I did a surprise dance with a separate outfit. My mom gave me my crown and my dad changed my shoes to heels.”

The North American tradition of a Sweet 16 is the celebration of a girl’s transition to womanhood at 16. The two both are similar in celebrating but different in cultural values. According to FJA Photography, a Quinceañera needs a private church ceremony with relatives and friends while expressing Hispanic or Latino culture. On the other hand, a Sweet 16 is a less formal event, with some traditions, one being a ceremony for lighting 16 candles.

“A Quinceañera is a reminder of where my roots come from,” freshman Lesly Hernandez Garcia said. “I know a lot of girls who are Hispanic or Latina don’t decide to have a Quinceañera and end up having a Sweet 16, which I feel like that could kind of show disrespect to the culture. Having a Quinceañera was my way of showing my friends and family that I appreciate them and them being there

for me.”