For those who do not know what a quinceanera is..

A quinceanera (in Latin America and among Latinos) is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday and her transition from childhood to adulthood, typically involving a mass followed by a party.

The history of a quinceanera…
Is the transition from childhood to womanhood. Hispanics, mark this memorable occasion with the celebration of a Quinceanera or Sweet 15.  This tradition is believed to have started many years ago when the spanish conquerors brought the tradition to Mexico but others say the tradition originated with the Aztecs. For the birthday princess, it is a day to give thanks for having reached this age. When planning a Quinceanera event it is teamwork effort of family, friend and relatives. In a traditional Quinceanera, each sponsor takes financial and/or moral responsibility over what they have been assigned including the cake,invitations,doll,rosary. Etc. It is traditional that the Quinceanera(birthday princess) wears a ball gown usually with a crinoline underneath to make the dress look extra puffy, and a crown or tiara.

Traditionally, The celebration will usually consist of having fourteen young girls called damas and fourteen young men called chambelanes, in addition to the Quinceanera's own chambelan de honor. Nowadays, Quinceanera’s will sometimes choose their own number of damas and chambelanes for less stress, they may also choose to have all girls or all boys.The actual Quinceanera celebration consists of several parts. It is traditional to have a special mass or ceremony to thanks for getting this far in life,followed by the reception,and not to forget the famous quinceanera waltz or el bals. After months of practice for the waltz, the moment finally comes during the reception. It is at this time that the Quinceanera will dance the waltz with her chambelan and accompanied by her damas and other chambelanes. This is a major highlight of the celebration. Other important highlights will follow such as the toast and the cutting of the cake. Without a doubt the Quinceanera celebration is a major Hispanic tradition where family, friends and relatives will go thru every effort to attend and participate in this celebration.The entire festivity is full of spiritual and emotional moments, and composed of several events that take place, where God, food, music and dance are the mix for a joyous party after months of planning!

My big day will be in April 15,2017, about 3 months until my big day!  I’m more then excited for this day to come, it has been one of my dreams and to see how hard i am working for it, gives me the hope of it coming true! I will no longer be a kid, It will be the day where i change from a kid to a young women. My mother and I, have been working a lot to make this dream come true. I have friends who are always there when i need advices on what choices would make my big day extra special, but all the costs are on my mom and myself.

So far, I have bought my big puffy dress with my crinoline and my after party dress. Buying these dresses was a really special moment for me because that was the beginning of an amazing journey! It was hard to choose from a thousand beautiful dresses but knowing the colors of my quince (baby blue and white) made it a bit easier. All I wanted was to find the right dress that looked like a true princess… until I found the perfect baby blue dress with diamonds! It truly made me believe I was going to be the princess of my special night. Trying it on was the moment when I felt like tears were coming down my face, my dreams and achievements are finally coming true! When I touched the tulle fabric, it felt just right. Just right for me and for my special night, this dress made it certain that it was going to be a special night!

No matter the occasion, every girl needs to wear the perfect accessories with the perfect dress! Right ladies? In this occasion I wanted one that would fulfill my joy and that would create a perfect image with my dress that's where I went online and found the perfect package! The package includes, earrings, necklace and even a headband for the perfect hairstyle! I knew it was the right one when I saw it because I felt it in my heart, it was a sense of ‘Love at first sight’. The necklace is filled with crystals and has a nice shape for my chest and the earrings fall down perfectly from my ears. You know something is right when you look at it once and fall in love with it right away! My crown, the most shiny thing I have ever seen! It shapes a heart around the number 15 and even fits perfectly on my head! I can’t wait till I have my hair all done and for my father to put the crown on me. It will be an emotional moment but a moment I will remember forever!

The  Quinceanera’s court of honor is composed of girls (called damas) and males (called chambelanes). In addition the Quinceanera’s own chambelan de honor ! The court is dressed in gowns and tuxedos representing the theme of the party. 

In my court of honor I am having 4 girls and 4 boys(without counting my main chambelan.)  I picked these 8 people by sitting down with my family and thinking about all these years in my life.. Who has really been there for me and who just came? Thinking of who has really made my life better and who has been there with me thru ups and downs was hard but I knew that I wanted the perfect court and I knew who has been in my life and never left.

That is why I choose to have Yamilex (cousin. )Yamilex is someone really special, I look up to her because every time I make a mistake she would always tell me why I shouldn't do it and what are the consequences of my actions. Darlin(School friend) I went to her sweet 15 where she looked truly amazing! I chose her because she has had experience with a quinceanera and she can be a great help in my big day! Deborah (My uncle’s girlfriend) She has been a great help for my family and me. every time we are going thru something tough you know you can count on her! and lastly but most importantly Jasmine(best friend) we have been thru a lot together and have been there for me on my toughest moments. These girls have all  had a big impact in my life.

With the boys, Dario (Best friend) has been in my life for about 3 years now, has always found a way to make me smile and help me up when I fall down. He’s the type of boy to tell you when you’re doing wrong but also help you and lead you to the right path. Eddy(sisters prom date) he's really funny and can brighten up anyones day with just a smile. Josue (Elementary school friend) He has been a friend to me since I first came to Massachusetts someone who has always found the way to make me smile and bring out the laughter in me when I have not found it possible. Randy(my brothers best friend)hes the kid who always has respect towards you and who will always want to make you laugh. These guys have impacted my life in one way or the other. They have been there thru it all and have always found a way to make me feel important, they have been the ones I look up to and I go to when I have boy issues. The most important decision but not the hardest, was choosing my main chambelan! As this has been one of my dreams, I have always had that one guy who I always wanted for the main guy in my Quince, Fabricio Martinez! Fabricio is someone who has been in my life for almost 5 years now, He has been my guy best friend for a long time now. Never left my side, and always told me how it is. It is a special thing for me and I wouldn't want to give the main chambelan spot to any other person but him.
The girls will be wearing short baby blue and white strapless dresses. I really liked picking these dresses out because I wanted them to wear something very different from my dress. My dress is full blue with short sleeves! I knew the dress I picked out for my girls were perfect when it was white with a little bit of diamonds and blue around. I buy the dresses online but I can’t wait till the dresses get to my house so I can see them in their beautiful dresses! The boys will be wearing Black tuxedos with baby blue tie.         

                                                               
The dances that the court and I will be performing are Merengue and Bachata Merengue is a style of Dominican music and dance. Partners hold each other in a closed position. The male holds the female's waist with the male's right hand, while holding the female's right hand with the male's left hand at the female's eye level. The song we will be performing in merengue is called Moviendo la cadera oro solido.  The bachata is a style of social dance from the Dominican Republic associated with bachata music. The basics to the dance are three-step with a hip motion, followed by a tap including another hip movement on the 4th beat. The bachata dance we will be dancing to is called debate de 4 by romeo santos.  To practice all of these moves you are set to 3 months before the big day!

I arranged practices to be every Sunday.. I always look forward for Sundays because when it is time to practice my mom really truly puts her effort for everyone to learn the moves and for this to come out perfect! She  really choreography’s  these dances to match my dreams and to make this party the best it could be. It is very stressing because not everyone gets the dances and moves on the first try so we have to keep practicing until everything is learned and everyone is well comforted with moves. I personally get anxious because I am afraid that anyone will mess up and it will look horrifying in my sweet 15! But I  know I have found the right team to make this come alive and to make it the best and even more then the best it could be. In practice we always start practicing the entrance, the entrance happens when the court of honor and myself are all ready to enter the stage and have to perform the walk in front of all the invites. This feels like walking in the red carpet, you are nervous but excited and emotional too!  After we practice the entrance we start with the meringue which is nerve aching because it is one of the hardest songs we will be performing. After the merengue comes the bachata (one of my favorite parts!) it is easy but has a lot of steps and could be confusing at times. During practice we do take breaks to have a snake and a drink and to talk about progress.

While it is hard to plan my sweet 15 and to practice every step of the way, I only do this for my dreams and I only hope that it comes out to be the best it could be at the end of the day!