Are Quinceañeras becoming too expensive?

by: Michael Kabel

There's no denying the Quinceañera is a big event in a young Latina girl's life - maybe the biggest. As Hispanic families come into their own within the American economy and culture, the Quinceañera event grows bigger - and more expensive - with each passing year.

Recent estimates believe more than 400,000 Latina girls commemorate their fifteenth birthday annually. The average American Quince anos celebration costs in the neighborhood of five thousand dollars - more than a month's income to most Hispanic families. With such popularity and at such cost, it's no wonder many cultural experts see the Quince celebration as the next true powerhouse in American consumer spending.

But with the ballooning costs and runaway popularity, how much is actually too much? Trends in American culture tend to have a half-life: they begin, grow hot very quickly, and then fizzle with almost as much speed. Is the opulent Quince celebration a trend? And what does that mean for families caught "on the bubble" of lavish Quinceañera spending?

The scale of beauty and style driven up by television and media influences.

The current decade is the Age of Reality Television, and nowhere is that more evident than in the proliferation of makeover and style programs across the cable television spectrum.

MTV, always an inspiration and reflection of teen consumerism, has enjoyed particular success with its My Super Sweet 16, a kind of "Birthdays of the Children of the Rich and Famous” program in which teenagers are entrusted with Lexus sports sedans while their parents spend thousands on professionally staged birthday extravaganzas. It's consumer voyeurism of the kind parenting experts used to warn about, writ without subtlety for the network’s tweens and teens audience.

Experts point out that shows such as My Super Sweet 16 and Bravo's Project Runway help foster very sophisticated senses of style in teens - senses that often develop very expensive tastes when planning their own coming of age celebrations. With the costs of renting venue space and entertainment rising as a result of increased demands, costs go up even higher. This spiral effect draws the typical Quinceañera price tag outside the realistic realm for many Latino families.

Making the most out of less.

Despite the consumerism, many Latina girls have no choice but to make their Quinceañera as economical as possible. Such "streamlined" events can include smaller sized fiestas, less expensive presents, and home-cooked meals (compared to the pricier alternative of catering.) Because the Quinceañera has become a more secular occasion in many modern Hispanic families, costs are cut by eliminating the prayer pillows and other accoutrement traditionally purchased for the Thanksgiving Mass. It's a cost-cutting move, if not one in keeping with the Quince tradition.

Looking past the price tags.

Ultimately, the Quinceañera is the celebration not of the family's wealth but of its success in raising a mature young Latina woman into her community. While that message is sometimes obscured by the all-too-American desire to flaunt one's own affluence, it's a message that's worth repeating. It's also an idea worth understanding, on the part of the Quince anos girl herself, as she moves into the challenges of independence from her parents' financial security.