Fiesta Quinceañera - Birthday Celebrations in Latin America

I recently saw some photos of an Argentinean friend’s 15th birthday party. Although her family isn’t really rich she was wearing dress which was very formal and similar to one that a princess would wear! This made me think that perhaps 15 was a very special birthday in Argentina. A Swedish friend here was recently telling me that in Sweden there are big celebrations for peoples 25th birthdays; so seemingly all over the world different birthdays are deemed important.

After doing some research I found out that her birthday party was indeed a special one – her fiesta quinceañera. In Argentina and other parts of Latin America fiestas quinceañeras are held to celebrate girls 15th birthdays. This birthday marks the transition from girlhood to womanhood.  

The celebrations in Argentina tend to be big! The birthday girl, wearing a formal full length dress, arrives with her dad and makes a grand entrance to the room where all her friends and family are waiting. The parties tend to include people of all ages and the girl will dance with all her friends and family.

Traditionally the girl would also be given 15 candles to hand out to 15 people who have been influential in her life. The candles represent each year that the girl has left behind on her journey to womanhood. From my friends photos it seems that this tradition still goes on as this is what she is doing in some of them.

Although I learnt about the celebrations because of my Argentinean friend in fact the fiesta quinceañera happens in many Latin American countries. In Cuba traditionally the dancing is more choreographed with couples waltzing around the birthday girl! In the Dominican Republic and Mexico again the celebrations are quite similar, but before the party begins the girl will attend a mass to give her thanks to God.

So it seems that these celebrations are very special and perhaps a little like the American “sweet sixteen.” There are websites dedicated to the celebrations where you can buy all that you need. I imagine that dress shopping for girls for these celebrations must be a pretty exciting process! 

Photo by: Will Clayton