Subtitle: A primer for Brandon’s family. 😉
“Quinceañera” — what does that mean?
It’s generally used to refer to the overall 15th birthday celebration, but Olivia will also be “the Quinceañera”—literally translated as the feminine form of “15-year-old”.
In Latin American countries, including Vanessa’s ancestral home of Mexico, it is a rite marking the transition from a girl to a young woman.
What happens at a quince?
“Quince” (KEEN-say) is the Spanish word for “fifteen” and a common informal way of saying quinceañera. “I went to a quince” or “Olivia had her quince last weekend”, for example.
While we have a whole slate of events, the core elements are the Mass and the reception.
In many respects, a wedding is a good mental model for it. While there are a lot of events surrounding the wedding, the actual ceremony and the reception afterwards are the star.
The Mass will include a few unique elements that are traditional.
- Olivia will make a declaration offering her thanks to God and a commitment to continue to live a Christian life.
- Then, Olivia will offer a bouquet of flowers to the Virgin Mary in honor of her role in bring Christ to the world and her intercessions for us.
- Lastly, the priest will bless Olivia.
Olivia will make her declaration in Spanish and the priest’s blessing will be in English. As a sneak peak, below is the English translation:
Heavenly Father,
I thank you for the gift of life
for creating me in your image and likeness
and for calling me to be your daughter through baptism.Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to save me and your Holy Spirit to sanctify me.
To that which in your goodness and love
you will for me, I say “yes,”
With your grace I commit myself
to serve my brothers and sisters all my life.Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother,
I dedicate myself to you.Since you are my model of faith,
help me to continue learning from you what I need to be a Christian woman.
Help me to hear the Word of God as you did, holding it in my heart and loving others,
so that, as I walk with Jesus in this life,
I may worship Him with you in all eternity.Amen.
What about the reception?
Again, a wedding reception is a fair mental model.
We’ll have appetizers to start while everyone gathers. Next, will be dinner (catered by El Mercado, which has been an Austin staple for a long time and one of mine for the last 20 years). Later, we’ll have cake and coffee. Of course, the desserts will be made by Vanessa and her Qué Bueno Bakery.
The traditional elements will include two dances by Olivia and her court—one is a waltz, which is traditional, and a second “modern” dance. Olivia will give a speech. She’ll also be given her “first pair of high heels” and change her shoes to mark the transition and so forth.
“DJ Tejano Man”, Chris Tristan, will spin the records for dancing until 10 p.m. when we’ll wrap things up. Of course, we’ll have tejano, but we’ll also have plenty of other music playing as well. Chris is a solid DJ and a true expert in the field, being given a proclamation by the City giving him his own “Chris ‘Tejano Man’ Tristan Day” in Austin.
What else?
That’s the big thing. Keep the wedding model in mind.
Friday night, we’re going to meet up at an outdoor food truck park and we’re opening our home on Sunday morning for y’all to come out, enjoy a breakfast taco, and hang out. Nothing particularly notable about this except to just give us more time to hang out with everyone.
Hope this helps!