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Femininity and Voyeurism

In the celebration of a quinceañera, “the quince is considered one of the most important times for beautification” (McCracken 197). Girls are expected to wear makeup, get their hair and nails done, and follow other beauty routines for the sake of appearance. The beauty standards endorsed by this tradition further exemplifies the performativity of gender.

The beautification that is displayed through the quince enforces a markedly feminine aesthetic that is stereotypically reinforced. Considering the history of the tradition, this definitive emulation of heteronormative gender aesthetics is intended for the male gaze and affirmation of the quinceañera’s “womanhood,” bolster the quinceañera’s reproductive economy (McCracken 198). The quinceañera celebration is an affair that is typically documented by photography and videography throughout the whole day, from preparation to the end of the night. Not only is the quinceañera reinforcing Eurocentric beauty standards for the performance of overt femininity for the eyes of family and friends that celebrate with her, but also for the permanence of voyeurism captured by the documenting media that follows her. This expectation serves as a tool of exclusion for other gender identities.

Works Cited

McCracken, Angela. "Beauty and the quinceañera: reproductive, productive, and virtual dimensions of the global political economy of beauty: Angela McCracken." Feminism and International Relations. Routledge, 2013. 206-232.

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Tiempo de Vals   

The quinceañera of today still holds as one of its traditions a vals, or waltz, where the quinceñera participates in several dances with close family members and their court of honor. Historically, the assumption is that prior to this moment the quinceñera had not been allowed to dance in public therefore marking this moment as one of public spectacle and performance. Customarily, the first dance is held between a father and daughter or paternal guardian. The dance here is imbued with particular patriarchal and gendered roles as the dance becomes a ritual wherein the actions represent the symbol of giving away or a “passing down” from the father to the chambelan, a heteronormative expectation. However, the dance can also be viewed as an opportunity to solidify familial bonds in the face of a wider community.   

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Catholic by Culture

An important aspect of this Latinx celebration is the religious ritual of mass, catered to commemorate and bless the adolescent turning fifteen. Practicing this rite is significant to both cultural and religious identity. This tenant of the quinceañera celebration “is not a part of the official liturgy of the Catholic church, that is, it does not hold the status of a sacrament nor is it part of the liturgical calendar” (Tatum). However, it is recognized by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in Cum nostra ætate (January 27, 1966) and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Liturgiam authenticam (March 28, 2001) as a part of the Book of Blessings. Known as the Bendición al cumplir quince años (or Order for the Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday in English), this rite of the quinceañera custom is highly esteemed in Latinx communities. Part of this high regard stems from the deeply rooted connection that religion, particularly Catholicism, has on Latinx identity and culture.

The Church serves as an established institution that validates the significance of and observes the quinceañera mass. Historically, the church “used [this] occasion for socializing [a] young woman in proper behavior and [providing] instruction to parents on how to educate their daughters about gender roles, ‘female’ behavior, and sexuality.” Most of the literature that exists on the religious association of the quinceañera provides particularly Catholic- and Mexican-centric examinations of this celebration. It provides a limited view of the religious implications involved within the rite and complicates the roots of the tradition in itself. The role of the church has changed to house other symbolic traditions, specifically how the mass calls for iconographic objects, such as rosaries and jewelry depicting religious idols, that further. For instance, a medalla, or religious medal, is “given to the young women usually by one of her aunts or another close relative” during the ceremony for the item to be blessed and worn by the quinceañera (Tatum).

The mass as a tenant of the quinceañera celebration highlights the performativity of religion for the preservation of the custom. Many families identify with Catholicism or other religions, but are not necessarily devout members of the Church; rather, they identify with and observe several religious rites for the sake of culture, not doctrine. Regardless, it is important to note that the mass is significant to the institutionalization of this cultural ritual. While there is limited literature on the roots of having a mass dedicated to the quinceañera, especially in the US after Latin American diasporic flow, “the quinceañera [has become] an extension of baptism, [an] opportunity for conversion, and a chance to encourage young girls to begin a new life of service” in the eyes of the Church (Dàvalos 111). This becomes evident in the preparation for and execution of this ceremony, which requires quinceañeras to possess a certain level of proficiency and status within the religion to participate in it. Critical of the extravagance of quinceañera parties and the widespread tendency to reduce the religious aspect of the tradition, the Catholic Church now promulgates guidelines through its dioceses, but gives agency to each parish to adapt the guidelines to traditions observed by the community they serve. As a result, the act becomes a tool of religious performativity.

Supplement

BENDICIÓN AL CUMPLIR QUINCE AÑOS Catholic Decree:  https://fwdioc.org/quince-anos-english.pdf

Works Cited

Dávalos, Karen Mary. “La Quinceañera and the Keen-Say-An-Yair-Uh: The Politics of Making Gender and Ethnic Identity in Chicago.” Voces: A Journal of Chicana/Latina Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 1997, pp. 57–68.

Encyclopedia of Latino Culture : From Calaveras to Quinceaneras, edited by Charles M. Tatum, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/claremont/detail.action?docID=1682940.

Stavans, Ilan, ed. Quinceañera. ABC-CLIO, 2010.

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Quinceañeras typically celebrate their coming-of-age alongside a court of family, friends, and/or acquaintances around their same age. The court can have male or female counterparts, chambelanes and damas, respectively. While the court would ideally have fourteen chambelanes and damas to create a total of fifteen coupled pairs (the fifteenth being the quinceañera with her main chambelan), this often is rare considering that finding nearly thirty individuals to make a commitment to the affair is difficult. The court is there to serve as the quinceañera’s entourage, accompanying her on the day of the celebration. They also commit to practicing weeks in advance to learn dance choreography and entrance precessions, and spend money investing on coordinated outfits for the day. Finding people who would be willing to commit time, energy, and money is difficult, especially since the court’s parents would be the ones dedicating these resources to the endeavor.

Credit: https://www.quinceanera.com/traditions/whats-a-quinceanera-court-of-honor/

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After the mass (which typically takes place in the morning time), the quinceañera is taken to a location with a pleasant aesthetic for a photoshoot. This picture shows my cousin during the day of her quinceañera, accompanied by her court, made up of four chambelanes. 

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Quinceañeras have a tradition of exhibiting choreographed and symbolic dances. Much like the courts of your favorite princess balls, the quinceañera and her court will perform a dance along to thematic music. Typically, this formal, waltz-like dance, intended to place the spotlight on the quinceañera, is followed by a surprise dance that can be anything from a hip-hop to a ballet routine. The surprise dance, or baile sorpresa, tends to be an example of newly assumed maturity, some of these exhibiting a more provocative nature. While the history of the surprise dance is inaccessible, the custom has allowed quinceañeras an opportunity to showcase their talent and identity.

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*walks into my house with my quince dress*

Me: I DON'T FIT!!

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Quinceañeros are real! 

Guys are having a larger presence in celebrating this custom. Some are influenced to honor their coming age as the only child/male in their family or to manifest their sexual/gender identities. While there are many reasons why boys decide to participate in this rite, their celebration of this contributes to their cultural identity and proliferation of tradition. Their presence and exposure deviates from the stereotype of what a “quinceañera/o” is presumed to look like, thus, reinforcing the evolution of the rite to be more inclusive.

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“A lot of transgender girls don’t even know they can have quinceañeras. [But] they definitely can and they definitely do have them.”

-Zoey Luna

Quinceañeras are gendered rites of passage that historically protagonize a cis, femme woman. It is associated to a particular kind of womanhood, one that prescribes to a conservative, patriarchal expectation. Zoey is an example of how quinceañeras have evolved to be more inclusive of different intersections of the Latinx identity through this positive representation in media. 

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A Community Affair

Quinceañeras are a commitment, an engagement to culture, society, and economic expectations. They are manifested with a collectivist mentality, which depends on particular networks of family and friends to celebrate and socio-economically bolster the celebration. These affairs are expensive, time-consuming, and physically exhausting, reaching a cost in the thousands of dollars. In many ways, this tradition becomes a tool of socio-economic performativity, in which many families have these parties despite unaffordability. While some families have the means to spare resources for a quinceañera, others find themselves saving money for years to practice this tradition for their daughters.

The majority of families do not possess the wealth to host a quinceañera party and, thus, rely on extended family to make it possible. Most quinceañera celebrations are put together with the help of comadre/compadre networks. These are defined as, “co-parent, co-mother, or co-father [and] can refer to the relationship between parents and godparents of a child, to a close friend or to a confidant.” These relationships can be created and exist “through the Catholic sacraments or may be less formal bonds between close friends.” Comadres and compadres are socially bound to provide for families they have vowed a relationship to when the occasion rises. This relationship expands to a network meant to “strongly unite unrelated members of the working classes, while for the upper classes, compadre relationships solidify familial bonds” (Tatum). For quinceañeras, the comadre/compadre is called the madrina/padrino. These figures specifically allocate their time and money to making sure the quinceañera celebrates her coming-of-age to her standards and cultural expectations.

By investing in a quinceañera as a participant or sponsor (such as madrina/padrino), one also proliferates the practice and validation of this rite. Without an institution and/or community to sanction this festivity, the quinceañera would lose its social significance in Latin American culture. The importance of creating a larger network by distributing responsibilities, which can be economically burdening, is highlighted in the unity it evokes. Communities in Latin America and the US (hosting communities of the Latin American diaspora) are able to celebrate this rite because of the prioritization of important cultural rituals and the collectivist support of their social expectations.

Bibliography

Dávalos, Karen Mary. “La Quinceañera and the Keen-Say-An-Yair-Uh: The Politics of Making Gender and Ethnic Identity in Chicago.” Voces: A Journal of Chicana/Latina Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 1997, pp. 57–68.

Encyclopedia of Latino Culture : From Calaveras to Quinceaneras, edited by Charles M. Tatum, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/claremont/detail.action?docID=1682940.

Lorch, Donatella. “RITUALS: Families and Traditions;Quinceanera: A Girl Grows Up.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Feb. 1996, www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/garden/rituals-families-and-traditions-quinceanera-a-girl-grows-up.html.

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Quinceañera (n.)

Quinceañera is a Spanish term stemming from the conjunction of the words quince, meaning fifteen, and año, meaning year. It signifies both the “celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday” and “a girl celebrating her fifteenth birthday in this way.” It is considered a significant milestone in Latin American culture, including its diasporic Latinx communities in the US. It is intended to signify the coming-of-age of a Latina into womanhood, though the rite has been practiced by other Latinx identifying folx of different sexualities and gender identities. This festivity is typically characterized by a religious mass honoring the event, “followed by a reception with refreshments and dancing” (OED Online). A mass and party are the basic tenants of the quinceañera tradition: “[She] is celebrated in two traditional spaces where Latino celebrations happen: the church and the dance hall. These celebrations include religious ritual and social rituals that include a level of performance” (Tatum 284). The Quinceañera is a tradition believed to be rooted in a culture of Aztec and Mayan indigenous rites of passage, though it is considered to be a new wave of historicizing the tradition and has limited literature. With Spanish colonialism, the religion of Roman Catholicism was imposed on both the people and their practices, presumably on this festivity, as well. This influence may have also contributed to making the ritual of mass of particular importance for observance in this celebration (Dàvalos 58).

In this endeavor, we plan to analyze the complexities and limitations of this tradition. Although a flowery and boisterous celebration that is iconic of the Latinx experience, it is important to dissect its history and influence on culture and identity. Some aspects we incorporated in our critical reviews include, the socio-economic, religious, and colonial legacies of the quinceañera. We also include media that both illustrates stereotypes/expectations of quinceañeras, both as celebrations and the individual being celebrated.

Works Cited

Dávalos, Karen Mary. “La Quinceañera and the Keen-Say-An-Yair-Uh: The Politics of Making Gender and Ethnic Identity in Chicago.” Voces: A Journal of Chicana/Latina Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 1997, pp. 57–68.

Encyclopedia of Latino Culture : From Calaveras to Quinceaneras, edited by Charles M. Tatum, ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/claremont/detail.action?docID=1682940.

"quinceañera, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/247420. Accessed 29 April 2018.