The Quinceañera, a Rite of Passage in Transition (Published 2016) (2024)

The Cedillo family was already running an hour late, so when the Range Rover stretch limo dropped them off at St. Agatha Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Lucero Cedillo and her court of nine chambelanes, the equivalent of groomsmen, dashed out of the car.

Lucero led the way, holding the hem of her strapless ball gown in one hand and a matching bouquet of silk garden roses in the other. Her parents, Alberta and Abundio Cedillo, followed. From a distance, the chambelanes could have easily been mistaken for cadets at a police academy graduation, walking in sync wearing black suits with gold aiguillettes around their right shoulders, eyes hidden under peaked hats with gold insignia.

The Rev. Silvio A. Ortiz began the quinceañera Roman Catholic Mass by congratulating Lucero, who knelt before him at the altar.

He blessed several items, including a porcelain doll, a symbol of Lucero’s childhood. Applause echoed through mostly empty pews. Then Lucero and her court scurried into the limo, heading for the party, a catered affair for 150 guests at a Greek Orthodox church hall in Bay Ridge.

Widely celebrated among Latinos, the quinceañera marks an important milestone in a girl’s life. Part birthday party, part rite of passage, it symbolizes a girl’s entrance into womanhood when turning 15, traditionally showcasing her purity and readiness for marriage.

But the quinceañera has also been Americanized. And the increasingly elaborate celebrations reflect the changing landscape of Latinos in the United States. In fact, Lucero’s quinceañera was not, strictly speaking, a quinceañera at all.