This November 24th, Sophomore Ivy Deleon celebrated her Quinceanera. This day is very important to their culture, it symbolizes a girl’s transition into womanhood. A quinceanera, also referred to as a quinceaños (quince meaning fifteen in Spanish), honors a girl’s 15th birthday. Her actual day of birth was the 14th of May but planning a Quinceanera takes months in advance of preparation.

She and her family began the process of planning her big day at the end of April, the beginning of May. Arranging a Quinceanera takes a lot of thought and time, as it is of great significance. 

They didn’t have a lot of time for composing the event due to her cousin celebrating her Quinceanera right before.

 “It was a lot of stress because of the little time we had because my cousin had her quince first,” said DeLeon. 

Their first step in preparing was to get a venue. They chose a reception place, and a salon in Florence. The venue offered food and drinks for DeLeon’s celebration. They served foods of all kinds including meats, ham, mac and cheese, and salads. For beverages, they chose sodas such as coke and sprite, and for those who didn’t like carbonated drinks they had coffee, tea, and water.

Besides the delicious meals and the fancy decor, the venue had fun party music picked out perfectly for Ivy’s ceremony. She mentions her favorite part of her quinceanera, that being the surprise with her mother.

Maria Deleon, Ivy’s mother, picked out and dedicated a special song and dance with her to honor her big day.

“My favorite part of my quince was the surprise with my mom and dancing with her.”

Another big part of her quinceanera ceremony was the gifting process.

“For the ceremony, there’s a bible, my last toy, heels, a crown, and jewelry that my court turns into me and I get.”

Her quinceanera could not be complete without an outfit. DeLeondescribed her dress as big and elegant, her dress was a burgundy red with gold accents, and the base was big and puffy with sparkles. She had matching nails along with her dress with gold and dark red designs. Spending time on her hair and makeup as well.