Francisca's quinceañera took place on June 17, 1995 in Orange, California. Church ceremony service was provided at the Our Lady of Guadalupe located at 1322 E. 3rd. Street in Santa Ana, California.
Francisca is the eldest of a family of seven. Her parents are Mr. Santos Dionicio Casimiro and Mrs. Guadalupe Reyes Sosa. Francisca only has a younger sister named Ana who is child number three. It will be a while before "Ana" might have her quinceañera. Francisca has been in Orange for more than six years. She is a ninth grader at the Orange High School. Francisca's favorite class is english. She plans to graduate from high school and prepare herself to teach english to adolescents, perhaps junior high school students. As a fulltime student, she does not have much time to spare, therefore, she does not volunteer in her community yet as she would like to. Being the eldest in a young family and being the daughter of a conservative father and not being able to drive makes it difficult for her to contribute to her community at this time.
As I was informed, Francisca's mother Guadalupe did not have a quinceañera when she was a young lady. Since Guadalupe has a daughter, she wanted Francisca to have a quinceañera since she did not have the opportunity for her parents to have given her this type of celebration. She asked Francisca and Francisca accepted to have this ceremony.
Things went underway. Preparations for the ceremony, the dress, invitations, and fiesta. Francisca did not have 14 couples like in other quinceañeras. Francisca had her chambelán and a few godparents who gave her gifts. Francisca's dress and jewelry were provided as gifts by her parents. Her godparents De Honor (of honor) paid for church service and other godparents provided her with her cake, invitations, music, bible and rosary.
On her birthday, her family took her out to brunch at El Pollo Loco. At the restaurant, her parents congratulated her for her achievements and her beginning into womanhood. It seemed that her parents were awful cordial with her on her special day because it was her birthday and they wanted her to feel their special love for her.
Her mother bought her the dress at a wedding gown store. Her dress is a short-sleeve simple long white dress. Wearing a white dress is a custom since white takes on the meaning of purity, clean, fresh, untouched. A child at a babtism as well as when one has the First Holy Communion, one tends to wear white garments again because of the "purity" insinuation.
The church ceremony was wonderful. The priest read from the gospel certain passages relating to growing up and living a harmonious lifestyle. Right after the ending of the service, Francisca's guests congratulated her outside of church. After the service, everyone met at the apartment complex courtyard. It was a neighborhood party. It was not a lavish party, it was a low-keyed, simple fiesta with friends, family and neighbors singing, dancing and socializing.
Dinner was purchase, prepared and served by her parents. The menu consisted of spanish rice, beans, and birria. Francisca's lady friend Celestina Jacobo helped prepare the guest tables and helped with the clean-up the next day. Francisca had asked her parents not to work that day so that they too could enjoy the celebration. However, her parents were responsible for organizing the event and therefoure could not sit down in her company all the time.
At the dance, Francisca informed the discjockey what songs to play. The discjockey had a wonderful varied collection of music. Everyone danced and even the children, her siblings danced to quebradita songs. Francisca danced all night long, though tired because of her shoes. She does not wear high heels often and so she would get tired and rest for a short while and then go back to the dance floor.
When I asked Francisca what was her favorite gift of all, she said, "When we arrived home I was surprised to see friends and neighbors welcoming me to the apartment entrance! They gave me a warm surprise and that made me feel good and special." She knew that she would have a party in her home, but not in the patio in the company of the neighbors!
When I asked Francisca of what the custom is in Guerrero, Mexico, she said that usually it is a birthday party that includes the girl getting her cake and dinner with family members only. It is something equivalent to the usual American birthdays. The difference in her party was that she had a special dress, a church ceremony, and a fiesta afterwards.
On June 17, 1994 Francisca felt like a true cinderella. It was her night, it was her special night. She knew that she was more than a chiquilla yet not fully a woman but rather a stage in her life in preparation to become a mujer with more responsibilities. She was about to take another step towards womanhood. Becoming a woman entails more duties both at home as well as for her community.
Thinking back at her quinceañera, she remembers dancing all night long without feeling tired at all. She often becomes tired after dancing a few songs, but that night she stood on her toes all night long. Her best friend, Veronica De La Cruz, pushed Francisca's face into the cake! It was hilarious! How embarrasing! Francisca ran upstairs to wash off the cake from her face. After cleaning herself up, she continued to dance the rest of the night to the varying beat of the disc jockey's music. The disc jockey would play classical spanish ballads, today's romantic themes, and the popular quebradita music.
Veronica De La Cruz is Francisca's best friend. They met two years ago at Yorba Middle School and they have grown fond of each other. The girls wanted to spend weekends together so they arranged it for their parents to meet each other. After that happened, the girls were allowed to go out together now that the parents knew each other's families and now they could trust them with their daughters. The girls often stay over night during weekends at each other's homes. Whenever each family has a special event, they invite each other. Since the De La Cruz family is very tight with the Dionicio family, Mr. Mario De La Cruz was asked to make a toast. He made a toast on Francisca's honor. He stated that her dreams had turned into reality; that she wanted a quinceañera and a fiesta and that was exactly what she got for her birthday. Best wishes for health, happiness and success for Francisca filled the air. Others also made toasts for Francisca.
Some of the gifts she received that made her feel like a princess were: a ring, a necklace, a bracelet, a set of earrings. Gifts from her padrinos (godparents) included: a fresh flower bouquet to offer to the Virgin Mary, godparents of music, and cake.
Francisca said to me, "I feel glad I had my quinceañera because it fulfilled not only my mother's dream, but mine as well. We were both happy that I could see myself in her eyes." I asked her to tell me what a quinceañera is in her own words and she said, "It means it is a sign that you are now more mature. You now contribute to your community." I wanted this customary ceremony and to have a party and my parents made my wishes come true.
Francisca is a shy person, yet is learning to introduce herself to others and to learn from others that are not of her nationality and customs. Mr. Martin, her geometry instructor from Japan, makes his students say their name or greeting in Japanese. This is fun for Francisca, to learn a few words in Japanese during roll call.
Among new duties Francisca does are mainly at home after school. She helps with routine house cleaning duties as well as light cooking for her six siblings. She is responsible for cleaning her room and sweeping the floors by the time her parents arrive home. Francisca's frineds are like her family, with similar after school activities. She said, "My parents trust me when I go out with friends. Some of my friends are not allowed to go out at night. Their parents are less trusting than mine. I guess I have shown that I am maturing, that I can take care of my self and that I can be trustworthy."
When I asked Francisca if she would do her quinceañera again, would she do it the same or change it? And if so, what would she change? She stated that she would change her dress from the simple one to a more lavish dress. Second, she would have her party in a reception hall. By having a party in a hall implies having more control over the guests, having guards, and having more control over the situation. It was uncomfortable for her to know that strangers would go through her room to use the restroom. She did not know all of the people there, but she hoped and trusted that everything would go well and nothing would be missing. Also, when a relative gets out of hand, it would be easier to take such person into a lounge. Third, she would also have a live band playing instead of a discjockey. It is against the law to have a live band in Orange.
I asked Mrs. Dionicio about how quinceañeras are done in Guerrero. She was sad to reply that Guerrero is a very poor town and the economy is not well. Therefore, this type of event is a very simple celebration. The girl is presented in church and perhaps an intimate dinner with immediate family members. The girl does not even get to wear a white dress. Any simple dress will suffice for the importance of the event.