Judith Ortiz Cofer's 'Quinceañera'
Quineceañera Time
I remember attending my sisters Quinceañera, and it being such a sentimental experience. Especially when she danced her first waltz with my uncle and my mom interrupted by giving her the last doll that moment almost made me cry. As my daughter is getting closer to her fifteenth birthday, I am getting a mixture of feelings because it means her Quinceañera time is near. Growing up in a Hispanic culture one celebrates the passageway of a girl into a young lady with a Quinceañera, which is done when the young lady turns fifteen. A Quinceañera is a really meaningful event to the parents and the young lady involved because of the symbolic gifts, special privileges, and the ceremony.
During the Quinceañera there are several meaningful …show more content…
According to Christy Damio “a Quinceañera is not just a party but it was also taking on responsibility in the home and community” (Damio p.13). To a young girl this is real exciting because it makes her feel like a responsible adult and that she has gained her family’s trust. The most important privileges for a young lady is to wear makeup, date, and make adult decisions. Judith Ortiz Cofer relates to this in one of her articles by stating “she was instructed on how to act like a proper sen᷇orita and were encouraged to look and act like women and dress in clothes that made them look more mature” (Cofer 39). Wearing makeup is something that a girl being raised in the Hispanic culture can start wearing the day of her Quinceañera. Another major privilege a girl gets is permission by her parents to begin dating, and from experience I can say it is one of the things young ladies look most forward too. Turning fifteen is a real special time in a young lady’s life especially because in her parents’ eyes she is a young lady who is responsible and able to make grown up decisions and the consequences as well. In a documentary by Robert Brown he says “like passing through an invisible door a Latina enters her Quinceañera as a child but emerges as a young woman with new responsibilities and those who know and love her will treat her differently from that day forward” (Brown). A Quinceañera is much more than gifts, responsibilities, and privileges but is also made up of a special
I remember attending my sisters Quinceañera, and it being such a sentimental experience. Especially when she danced her first waltz with my uncle and my mom interrupted by giving her the last doll that moment almost made me cry. As my daughter is getting closer to her fifteenth birthday, I am getting a mixture of feelings because it means her Quinceañera time is near. Growing up in a Hispanic culture one celebrates the passageway of a girl into a young lady with a Quinceañera, which is done when the young lady turns fifteen. A Quinceañera is a really meaningful event to the parents and the young lady involved because of the symbolic gifts, special privileges, and the ceremony.
During the Quinceañera there are several meaningful …show more content…
According to Christy Damio “a Quinceañera is not just a party but it was also taking on responsibility in the home and community” (Damio p.13). To a young girl this is real exciting because it makes her feel like a responsible adult and that she has gained her family’s trust. The most important privileges for a young lady is to wear makeup, date, and make adult decisions. Judith Ortiz Cofer relates to this in one of her articles by stating “she was instructed on how to act like a proper sen᷇orita and were encouraged to look and act like women and dress in clothes that made them look more mature” (Cofer 39). Wearing makeup is something that a girl being raised in the Hispanic culture can start wearing the day of her Quinceañera. Another major privilege a girl gets is permission by her parents to begin dating, and from experience I can say it is one of the things young ladies look most forward too. Turning fifteen is a real special time in a young lady’s life especially because in her parents’ eyes she is a young lady who is responsible and able to make grown up decisions and the consequences as well. In a documentary by Robert Brown he says “like passing through an invisible door a Latina enters her Quinceañera as a child but emerges as a young woman with new responsibilities and those who know and love her will treat her differently from that day forward” (Brown). A Quinceañera is much more than gifts, responsibilities, and privileges but is also made up of a special