La Quinceañera
I'd do this whole post in Spanish, but you don't read Spanish, do you? My brothers might, but they aren't here. And all they'd do, if I wrote it in Spanish, would be to point out my many and egregious mistakes. Nevertheless, I will write a little bit in Spanish. Brothers, hold your criticisms til the very end. Submit any error reports in triplicate using bullet points and please reference all mistakes by quotation so I know what to revise. Keep your laughter to yourselves.
Buckle up your eyes, for I have many pictures to share with you. Skip the boring ones if you want.
I just uploaded the pictures I want on here and DANG there are a lot of them. I don't blame you if you fall asleep halfway through them.
Ok. Here is the family table at the head of the room (for those of you who are LDS, the room should be very recognizable). The chambelan de honor sits next to the quinceanera (when she's done getting her food) for the dinner portion of the fiesta. (This is the only picture I labeled) (The food was excellent) (You should be jealous)
Dos hermanos y una hermana del chambelan de honor esperan en la línea para el alimento.
Matt and Hayley argue with their eyes about something. Paul knows he's being photographed and yet manages an easy smile.
El padre del chambelan de honor:
(Él es muy apuesto) (especialmente en un traje)
La Quinceañera y el chambelan de honor
La torta
Another picture of Jim. I couldn't resist.
After the dinner, there was a short program. The quinceañera tradition symbolizes a girl's transition into womanhood. There is a Catholic service that goes with it, but since the quinceañera, Edna, is LDS, there was no renewal of baptismal vows like in the Catholic tradition (We Mormons renew our baptismal covenants every week on Sunday when we take of the Sacrament).
Edna's mother emceed the program and gave us a little explanation of the tradition of the quinceañera. Apparently, it has its earliest roots in Aztec tradition when a girl wasn't considered a full member of the tribe until she was 15 (I think that was the explanation). So here is my pictorial on the tradition.First we sang a Mexican birthday song to Edna as she stood in the middle of the gym.
(Edna is actually 17 and her birthday was in Feb. But her mother said better late than never)
Then her father presented her with a tiara symbolizing that she is a princess in the eyes of God and her parents.
Edna with her tiara
Then the damas (female attendants) were introduced one by one and they joined Edna on the dance floor. They were supposed to dance by themselves, but the most movement they could muster was to sway gently back and forth. Edna swished her dress around. It was the perfect dress for swishing.
Then the chambelans (escorts for the damas) were introduced one by one. Each one danced a minute or two with Edna and then went to dance with the dama they were assigned to.
After dancing with the chambelans, the quinceañera dances one last time with her father. Her dad must have said something funny or embarrassing. He was a very nice guy. It is from him that Edna got her Mexican heritage.
Then her father handed her off to the chambelan de honor (Other Jim) symbolizing the passage from girlhood to womanhood. The chambelan symbolizes the kind of man she wants to marry someday.
Then the quinceañera and the chambelan de honor dance for a while in the traditional waltz. Yes, OJ waltzed. He went to many practices with Edna. Here he gives Edna a twirl:
Edna and OJ
And then after that, it was a dancing free-for-all.
Two of the chambelans had a good time busting out their moves.
Matt contemplated not talking.
Poor Hayley! She wore an Asian-themed dress to a Latina celebration!
Paul texted his friend asking him to come over and hang out.
Paul didn't interact with any of the teenagers until this friend of his that he texted showed up. His friend knew most of the teenagers there and introduced Paul around and Paul had instant friends.
We stayed overnight in Rochester and came back this morning. It was fun to take part in this kind of cultural event! We were so glad that Edna invited us.
Buckle up your eyes, for I have many pictures to share with you. Skip the boring ones if you want.
I just uploaded the pictures I want on here and DANG there are a lot of them. I don't blame you if you fall asleep halfway through them.
Ok. Here is the family table at the head of the room (for those of you who are LDS, the room should be very recognizable). The chambelan de honor sits next to the quinceanera (when she's done getting her food) for the dinner portion of the fiesta. (This is the only picture I labeled) (The food was excellent) (You should be jealous)
Dos hermanos y una hermana del chambelan de honor esperan en la línea para el alimento.
Matt and Hayley argue with their eyes about something. Paul knows he's being photographed and yet manages an easy smile.El padre del chambelan de honor:
(Él es muy apuesto) (especialmente en un traje)La Quinceañera y el chambelan de honor
La torta
Another picture of Jim. I couldn't resist.
After the dinner, there was a short program. The quinceañera tradition symbolizes a girl's transition into womanhood. There is a Catholic service that goes with it, but since the quinceañera, Edna, is LDS, there was no renewal of baptismal vows like in the Catholic tradition (We Mormons renew our baptismal covenants every week on Sunday when we take of the Sacrament).
Edna's mother emceed the program and gave us a little explanation of the tradition of the quinceañera. Apparently, it has its earliest roots in Aztec tradition when a girl wasn't considered a full member of the tribe until she was 15 (I think that was the explanation). So here is my pictorial on the tradition.First we sang a Mexican birthday song to Edna as she stood in the middle of the gym.
(Edna is actually 17 and her birthday was in Feb. But her mother said better late than never)Then her father presented her with a tiara symbolizing that she is a princess in the eyes of God and her parents.
Edna with her tiara
Then the damas (female attendants) were introduced one by one and they joined Edna on the dance floor. They were supposed to dance by themselves, but the most movement they could muster was to sway gently back and forth. Edna swished her dress around. It was the perfect dress for swishing.
Then the chambelans (escorts for the damas) were introduced one by one. Each one danced a minute or two with Edna and then went to dance with the dama they were assigned to.
After dancing with the chambelans, the quinceañera dances one last time with her father. Her dad must have said something funny or embarrassing. He was a very nice guy. It is from him that Edna got her Mexican heritage.
Then her father handed her off to the chambelan de honor (Other Jim) symbolizing the passage from girlhood to womanhood. The chambelan symbolizes the kind of man she wants to marry someday.
Then the quinceañera and the chambelan de honor dance for a while in the traditional waltz. Yes, OJ waltzed. He went to many practices with Edna. Here he gives Edna a twirl:
Edna and OJ
And then after that, it was a dancing free-for-all.
Two of the chambelans had a good time busting out their moves.
Matt contemplated not talking.
Poor Hayley! She wore an Asian-themed dress to a Latina celebration!
Paul texted his friend asking him to come over and hang out.
Paul didn't interact with any of the teenagers until this friend of his that he texted showed up. His friend knew most of the teenagers there and introduced Paul around and Paul had instant friends.We stayed overnight in Rochester and came back this morning. It was fun to take part in this kind of cultural event! We were so glad that Edna invited us.
Comments
At first I was confused because I knew she was older than that, but now I get it.
I'm still torn between whether a quinceanera is cool or excessive, but it's fun for a bite-sized slice of latin culture, and everyone looks lovely in the photos.