Quinceañera (My Sweet Fifteen)

The Quinceanera is the official celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday (from Sp. quince, meaning fifteen and años, meaning years: fifteen-year-old). The tradition, which originated in Latin America, has spread all over the Americas (think of "Sweet Sixteen" in the USA), but is today particularly strong in Mexico. 

The fifteenth birthday is celebrated in a special way, because it marks the girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. In the past, prior to their fifteenth birthday, young women were taught about things like cooking, keeping a house and childbearing by older women in the society, in preparation for their future roles as wives. Not unlike in the case of debuntantes (or debutante balls) in parts of Europe and the United States, this is also the moment, the young lady is officially presented to the society and so it is when she wears make up and high-heeled shoes for the first time (or so it used to be, as nowadays girls tend to wear such things even earlier). In Mexico, the celebration starts with a special mass in church and involves a first dance (which in the past would be the girl's first ever public dance) - with her father and then an escort of choice, the ceremony of "the last doll" (originating in the Mayan tradition), the ceremony of the changing of the shoes (first high heels), presents, pictures and - often - also "first" drinks and a party in a limo ...  You can read more about it here. 

A very important part of the celebration seems to be a photo shoot in a public place - the birthday girl wearing a puffy dress, accompanied by her damas and chambelanes (female sidekicks and male escorts), everyone all done-up, hair & makeup galore. Looking at them, I often find it hard to believe that these girls are only fifteen years old ... Below are a few examples of what it all looks like, shot by me on various occasions in Mexico City and the in state of Puebla.

A Quinceanera poses with her dames and chambelanes in front of the San Juan Bautista church in Coyoacan, Mexico City

  Welcomed by mariachis in front of a XIX century church in Chignahuapan, Puebla

At the Angel de la Independencia, center of Mexico City. This is obvously a popular photo spot, because there were at least five different Quinceaneras there that night, wearing different colored dresses (white, blue, red, black), like night butterflies, drawn by the light.

Here, the Quinceanera poses with her dames and chambelanes.