While living in the Philippines, I met a girl who became my best friend. Her name was Regina and she was Mexican. Due to us being so close, Regina invited me to her Quinceañera. She told me that a Quinceañera was a celebration of a girl entering womanhood. On the night of her Quinceañera, I was amazed at what I witnessed. There were a variety of Mexican cuisines and the house was decorated ballroom style. All of the guests had to dress up and Regina looked like a beautiful princess. It was an amazing time and I’m glad I experienced it.
In the beginning, I thought it was weird. I had an ethnocentric view, meaning I was viewing the world from my own culture and perspective . I believed a girl did not turn into a woman until she was 18 years old because that is how I was taught in my African-American culture. In my culture, a girl becomes a woman when she is able to take care of herself. In other words, she has her own place, her own car, and is able to survive without the help of her parents. This usually does not occur before age 18. Therefore, I grew up thinking that, until age 18, you were still considered a girl and not a woman. However, I learned to accept that all cultures vary when it comes to the moment a girl becomes a woman. Regina taught me something I never knew and I am glad she did.
I loved reading your post! Two of my best friends growing up had a Quinceañera together because they were twin sisters. When I attended it was a blast I couldn’t understand the magnitude of the birthday party just for turning 15 until my friends mother came and sat next to me at a table. We started a conversation about the true meaning of the Quinceañera and though I agree coming from who I was as a person at 15 and knowing I was far from an adult the tradition they hold dear was so moving. The Quinceañera for my friends brought all of their family out and shared their cultural tradition to friends that some like me never would have experienced in their life which is so great to think about. Thank you for sharing!
This post brought back a lot of memories! I remember attending my first Quinceanera and thinking that it was so cool. During high school I had a variety of friends from different backgrounds so I was exposed to a lot of cultures and various traditions. I totally agree with how you felt about the ceremony at first, but stepping out of our culture and seeing other cultures is so intriguing!
I totally identify with being confused about a culture’s norms and rituals when having the perspective of another culture. Personally, I had a similar experience with my parents culture, in which they believe that a woman should not leave the house and be independent until she is married. Being brought up in America and being influenced by its culture I thought that a woman could be independent whenever she could pay her own rent to live somewhere other than her parents house. I’m glad that your experience showed you what mine showed me, that the norm in my culture may not be the same in another. Great post!
What an excellent post! I grew up in a heavily dominate Latino neighborhood, and a few of my friends (who were girls), invited me to their Quinceanera when we were in middle school. I remember they wore huge bright colored dresses, with really extravagant designs and patterns all over them. The food and the dancing was absolutely the best part of those celebrations. I remember, as you stated, thinking it was weird that they enter womanhood before the age of 18, since that is so different from the culture and values of Americans. I am glad Regina was able to teach you so much about her culture and what it means to enter womanhood.
Thank you!
Great post! I have also experienced an instance where I was forced to realize that different cultures have different perspectives about what age signifies adulthood. When I turned 18, I considered myself to be an adult. However, I soon realize that my family did not the same way I did. This is because in Indian culture you are not really ever treated like an adult until you’re married or have a stable job. I always had to struggle get to my parents to see me as an adult.
I like how such an experience gave you a new perspective of other peoples’ cultures. Growing up I had a lot of friends that were Mexican and I knew of a couple of them who had Quinceaneras, but I never attended any. I think the difference in coming of age periods for each culture is one aspect that will always give each group its distinctness. It shows that the way of living for one group may not be accepted for another.