The quinceañera

The day, in order

1. la misa Mass in the morning The quinceañera enters the church with her parents and her chambelanes, the young men who escort her.
2. el salón The party in a hall In the piece, two hundred people in a function room.
3. el vals The waltz with her father The emotional centre of the evening.
4. los tacones The change of shoes Her father takes off her flat shoes and puts on high heels.
5. la última muñeca The last doll Her mother gives her a doll: the end of childhood.
6. la coreografía The chambelanes' routine A choreographed dance rehearsed for months.
7. hasta las tres Mariachis, a DJ and food until three Then the quinceañera goes to bed happy and very tired.

• A quinceañera's day in the piece runs from a morning mass to a hall party with a waltz, the change of shoes, the last doll, a chambelanes' routine, mariachis and food until three in the morning.
• Many families spend more on the fifteenth birthday than on a wedding.

Primero bailó el vals con su papá.

First she danced the waltz with her father.

Su mamá le dio la última muñeca.

Her mother gave her the last doll.

Hubo mariachis, un DJ y comida hasta las tres de la mañana.

There were mariachis, a DJ and food until three in the morning.

Who pays: padrinos and compadres

The godparents paid for the dress, the cake and the music. At a Mexican wedding or quinceañera there are padrinos for the rings, the bouquet, the cake and the music, and each pays for the thing they sponsor. Sharing out the costs makes possible a party no single family could afford, and everybody knows who put in what.

Accepting is more than a payment. When someone becomes a child's godparent they also take on the parents, who from that day are their compadres, for life. The word comes from compater, one who is a father alongside another. Choosing is thought about and discussed, sometimes for months, and one almost never asks without already knowing the answer.

• At a wedding or a quinceañera there are padrinos for the rings, the bouquet, the cake and the music, and they pay for what they sponsor.
• Compadrazgo creates a bond between the godparent and the parents, who call each other compadre and comadre for life; the word comes from Latin compater.
• Choosing godparents can take months, and one almost never asks without knowing the answer, because refusing is more delicate than asking.
• The institution has outlived the faith that created it: there are compadres who have not set foot in a church in twenty years and still use the word.

Los padrinos pagaron el vestido, el pastel y la música.

The godparents paid for the dress, the cake and the music.

Con el ahijado, desde luego, pero también con los padres, que a partir de ese día son sus compadres.

With the godchild, of course, but also with the parents, who from that day are his compadres.

Repartir así los gastos permite hacer una fiesta que ninguna familia podría pagar sola.

Sharing out the costs like this makes possible a party no family could pay for alone.

Words for the party

cumplir quince años

to turn fifteen

el pastel

the cake

el salón

the function room, the hall

ensayar

to rehearse

la boda

the wedding

Ayer Ximena cumplió quince años.

Yesterday Ximena turned fifteen.

Muchas familias gastan más en los quince años que en una boda.

Many families spend more on a fifteenth birthday than on a wedding.