Quinceanera is a Celebration and Show of Pride

For most little girls in the United States, the thought of the "Sweet 16" party has held promise in its potential to mark the not-a-girl-not-yet-a-woman milestone. Anyone old enough to appreciate the late John Hughes hallmark "Sixteen Candles," in which Molly Ringwald's character sits on the table with the major object of her affection, Jake Ryan (Michael Shoeffling, who subsequently became a carpenter), will likely admit that that was the way to have a 16th birthday. Your crush, your cake and you.

In Latin culture, it is the 15th birthday that gets the glory. The celebration is called a quinceañera and it is a huge deal. Huge. Tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, go into marking the young lady's entre into womanhood. It is, frankly, a mini-wedding -- white dress and all -- just (hopefully) without the groom.

The "quince" is becoming more popular here than ever, CNN reports, and it is fitting ceremony of pride -- both for presenting the daughter, but also as a show of success for the family. If they can afford a big show, that effectively proves that they have "made it."

"I was able to accomplish something that I had been looking forward to for 15 years," says Marlene Ferro, who came her from Cuba as a child with her parents, in the piece.

Ferro, a 43-year-old single mother of three, saved up $20,000 to spend on her daughter Jenny's party, noting that when she had her quince, it was definitely a much more scaled-down affair.

Is it necessary? Perhaps not. A smaller party without the excessive trimmings would also be special and acknowledge the event, but the quinceañera is a proud Latin tradition for mothers and daughters alike.

Photo: Briss Aguilar@sxc.hu