Turning fifteen may not seem incredibly special to most girls, but for girls with a Hispanic background it is considered to be one of the biggest celebrations of their life. They celebrate a Quinceanera, or “fifteen year celebration”, which is a ceremony to mark a girl’s passage into womanhood.

Isabella Vares is a freshman who recently had a Quinceanera and celebrated in the finest way.

“It felt cool having one,” Isabella said. “It also felt great because my mom had one and my grandma had one and I continued the tradition.”

Quinceaneras come with careful planning and sometimes take a long time to get everything finished. Picking the dress and theme are just small parts to the celebration.

“It took me two years to plan for it,” Isabella said. “The hardest part of planning was selecting the court. Your court are like bridesmaids of a wedding, they are there every step of the way.”

Even with all the stressful planning, the end result was one that nobody would want to pass up.

“The dancing was a lot of fun,” Isabella said. “The best part was that I had 150 guests, mostly family and a few friends.”

Cristina Hernandez, also a freshman, has yet to have her Quinceanera but has been steadily planning months prior to the event.

“So far I have to plan the dances, buy a dress, find tuxedos for the court of honor, buy a venue, take care of catering, find the music, and rent a limo.” Cristina said.

Just like Isabella, Cristina has to pick a court of honor that will stand by her side.

“I’m just having a court of boys,” Cristina said. “They are all my good friends and having girls on my court is too much trouble.”

Since the Quinceanera resembles a wedding in many ways, Cristina gets to choose what kind of food she wants there.

“Choosing the food is the greatest part,” Cristina said. “I specifically want chicken of some sort.”

Even with the hardest parts taken care of, the simpler parts are the ones that are hard to tackle.

“Planning the dance work is the hardest part,” Cristina said. “Everyone has to agree and be somewhat comfortable with the dance and music.”

Once all the hard work pays off, Cristina will be in for one of the greatest celebrations of her life.

“I want it to be magical,” Cristina said. “I hope that it will be a night that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”