Mixing Up the Quinceañera Traditions

By: Sophie Diez

The Quinceanera celebration is your chance to show the world you're an amazing young woman full of promise. You're just stepping into your own and into the world around you. And the Quinceanera tradition is full of rituals - time-honored customs that you'll want to observe. Or maybe you won't. If your family doesn't object to you bringing a little modern spice to the party, you can make your Quinceanera celebration one of the hippest and most fashion-forward events around.

Bringing those two worlds of the classic and the modern might be easier than you first think. "The strategy is simple," says Elena Gutierrez, a professional party planner. "Girls can do some research and figure out which fashions they want, and then adapt them."

The trick, Gutierrez says, is to recognize common ground between the classic and the contemporary. "For example, the gowns worn today aren't all that different from the elegant affairs worn two hundreds years ago. A fashion-conscious girl might take the classic gown shape but give it a modern color scheme or hemline to jazz things up."  

For girls looking to identify which traditions they'd like to customize to their own tastes, experts say it's best to start with the parts of the celebration they appreciate the least. "I have girls come in and talk about how they're not looking forward to the changing of the shoes, for example," one expert says. "I tell them, 'that's the part you need to change then.' Talk it over with your familia and see what you can do to make it fun."     

"Why would anyone want to perform a ritual that bores them on a day that's in their honor? Where’s the fun in that?"

The classic ritual of the changing of the shoes, in which the Quince girl's father changes her shoes from a girl's flats to a young woman's heel, is notoriously out of favor among some modern Quinceañera celebrations.
“Girls grow up fast, so admitting they’re ready for ‘big girl clothes’ like the shoes is kind of embarrassing,” says Alicia Hernandez, an Atlanta-based fashion expert. "Still, if the tradition includes some fashion-conscious shoes, like a pair of the latest strappy sandals, the ritual becomes that much more fun."

The choreographed dance is another traditional celebration event that many experts point to as ready for a thorough makeover. Some Quince girls are using that time in the celebration to introduce dances and guest activities less practice-intensive. However, the traditional first dance shared by the father and daughter is still a venerated custom. While sometimes a modern version of a traditional ballad will be used, the significance of the dance remains in high esteem.

But the rest of the dance is subject to modern flair. At one Houston-based Quinceanera fiesta, the crowd danced to contemporary music and then joined in a conga line immediately afterwards. The DJ spun a constant mix of traditional and modern dance music; so that both the older and younger guests had music they could dance to.

"With so much music on the Internet, including mashups and remixes, there's no limit to how much music can be tweaked," says Atlanta-based DJ George Vera. "Even the most - let’s call it "old fashioned" – music can grow new life with some modern production and background beats."

The trick is to communicate and pay attention. "If the girl is looking to make a decision, I'd tell her to be careful, discuss things with her family, and think about what she wants. Practice and thinking ahead makes perfect."