Once Upon a Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA

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Once Upon a Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA

3.28 of 5 stars 3.28 · rating details · 480 ratings · 120 reviews

The bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents explores the phenomenon of the Latina sweet fifteen celebration

The quinceañera, the fifteenth birthday celebration for a Latina girl, is quickly becoming an American event. This legendary party is a sight to behold: lavish ball gowns, extravagant catered meals, DJs, limousines, and multi-tiered cakes. The...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published August 2nd 2007 by Viking Adult

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Feb 21, 2008 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library_books, nonfiction

Very thought-provoking and well-written. I was interested in the documentation of the quinceanera: the rituals, the meaning, etc., since I am Jewish and I didn't know anyone who had one (but I did have a Bat Mitzvah!). I felt that at the end the autobiographical stuff was a little tangential to her main point, but interesting nonetheless. I think it is important that authors examine the issues around being a Latina. At the same time, I think that some of the issues she explores around being lost...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Deb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, bookcrossing-com, nonfiction

I thought this was very interesting. Before I listened to this audiobook, I knew nothing of Quinceaneras. Alvarez not only takes a look at the history and traditions, but also describes the pros and cons of this coming of age ceremony for young Latina women. This study is far from dry and I found Alvarez descriptions of the craziness that surrounds the special day entertaining and other parts and passages thought provoking and beautiful.

Note: This was a book that I received from a member of
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Aug 18, 2009 Christine Henry rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a wonderful exploration of the coming of age ceremony, quinceanera, in Latino communities around the US. Equally intriguing were the cross-cultural comparisons of other contemporary ceremonies. It inspired a lot of thought about how we convey to our young people that not only do we want to guide them, but that we value them as individuals as well as part of the next generation to carry on tradition. Most thought-provoking was the ongoing comparisons between quince celebrations in other...more

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Jan 09, 2009 Phyllis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Julia Alvarez -- of "How the Garcia Girls..." -- has written a non-fiction examination (published in 2007) of not only the 15-year-old Latina celebration but a searching look at the economic and social look at the history of the adolescent Latina in her "home country" culture and her place in the USA of today. She has traveled all over the country to interview all the participants in the religious and social parts of the big day. In addition, she threads her own story of growing up Latina in th...more

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Apr 18, 2010 Jeanette rated it 2 of 5 stars

let me begin by stating that i really really really like julia alvarez. i have been waiting to read this forever, and was so excited to finally receive it.

and so disappointed after reading it. i felt like this was two or three books in one. i was expecting more about actual quinceaneras and why they are tradiation. the last 100 pages or so is all about julia alvarez's life- having nothing to do with quinces. it was as if she ran out of material so started her own biography.

she also ends with qu...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really thought-provoking read. Perhaps just as relevant to the sweet sixteen crowd, but addressing issues specifically related to young Latinas. There are huge markets out there selling all kinds of princess-related things to girls - but for those girls who are at risk, it's a real tragedy to be deluding them with this "princess for a day" business when they're likely to end up high school drop outs, single moms, and/or having drug related issues. Even girls who aren't on that path but are just...more

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Feb 11, 2010 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, adult-non-fiction

I really enjoyed this book, the second I've read by Alvarez. (The first was her first novel which I didn't know was an autobiographical account until some details early on in this book connected it for me.)Much more than just a historical account of quinceañeras, Alvarez explores the present day tradition noting how it has changed/is changing as elements of American culture were/are infused with it and seeks to discover the impact quinceañeras have on girls.

Reflecting on the interviews with quin

...more

Reflecting on the interviews with quince planners, seamstresses, venue managers, caterers, photographers, priests, and anyone else connected with quince celebrations, and combining that knowledge with her own experiences and observations, Alvarez weaves thoughtful conclusions and presents sage advice between the chapters of the ongoing, collective account of one girl's quinceañera.

In addition to the textbook knowledge about Quinceañeras,readers are presented with insight into Hispanic (as an aside, a term coined by the U.S. government in 1973) culture and struggles faced by emigrants and their children. Although a bit tangential toward the end of the book, Alvarez works her way back.

Throughout, she addresses the themes of Marianisma and its relation to the quinceañera celebration, the blending of the Hispanic/American culture and therefore the inherent struggles for identity and duty, tradition/rituals, and the need for strong, experienced female role models who don't just spout advice, but are sounding boards and engaged participants in the lives of teenage girls because as she states, "Nadie aprende en cabeza ajena" (No one learns in somebody else's head).

She also explores answers to the questions: Why is the quinceañera one of the lasting (however morphed) traditions? Are we doing the girls a disservice by financing and indulging them in a "princess for a day" fairytale? Why do Hispanics have a reportedly high rate of teenage pregnancy, suicide, and drop-out? What role does early intervention and education play in ceasing this epidemic? and, How can the Hispanic community work together to support and empower the girls coming of age in the U.S. in the midst of a culture unidentifiable to earlier generations but with a desire to honor/respect/connect to their roots?

If I had to sum up the book in one sentence, it would be Plato's admonition, "Education is teaching our children to desire the right things" that Alvarez kept coming back to throughout, because if this could be accomplished, it would mean the world.

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Nov 30, 2008 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have an interest in coming of age rituals and celebrations. I love birthdays, but the ones with particular meaning in different cultures and socio-economic groups hold particular interest - including bar and bat mitzvahs, Sweet Sixteens (thanks to MTV for indulging this fascination), debutante balls, and the quinceanera. Recently, there seems to have been a rash of books and movies about this latin phenomenon. In this non-fiction book by the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, A...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an examination of the fifteenth birthday parties that have been a tradition in some Latin American families. Alvarez reveals her own personal history as a child of the Dominican Republic, and explores the many Latina/Latino cultures that have come to embrace this celebration even though it never existed in the Old Country. From the families that have no money and mortgage their lives, to the actual moneyed families that can afford a huge party for hundreds at Disney World, Alvarez interv...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Lynda Freas rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who enjoys nonfiction that reads like a novel.

I fell in love with How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents many years ago and have since been a huge fan of Julia Alvarez. I picked up Quinceanera at an airport and was immediately taken with the story. She follows several young girls as they plan and experience their quince, the celebration of their fifteenth birthday.

In this rite of passage, many families spare no expense to create a lavish celebration, even when it is a financial burden. Alvarez writes very thoughtfully about the cultural i...more

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Sep 18, 2010 bookczuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing, audio, biography-autobiography-or-memoir, taught-me-something

This was an interesting journey into the coming of age ceremony for many young Latina women. I only became aware of Quinceaneras within the past 20 years, and wonder if that's a factor of a second generation actually being born here in the US rather than being newly immigrated from elsewhere. Alvarez;s own story and journey through her own coming of age was interesting as well. It makes me want to re-read her fiction and poetry with a different eye, now.

There were passages when I felt something...more

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Sep 11, 2007 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars

see my review for time out new york:

[http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articl...]

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Apr 25, 2010 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up on a whim at the library, because I have read and liked other books by this author. Also, I live right by a gorgeous park in San Diego, so I always see girls in fancy white dresses being trailed by professional photographers and a train of girls in matching dresses that I naturally assume are brides until I get a closer look . . . and realize they are teenagers! It is crazy!!

I really liked getting a closer look at this fascinating tradition, but I also found it frustrating...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Sandra Alonzo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

I read this as research for a young adult novel I'm working on and was pleasantly surprised that it's such a good read. I've read one of Julia Alvarez' fiction novels, and was pleased to discover that she's written such an interesting creative non-fiction book that delves into the complicated issues surrounding quinceaneras. Quinceaneras are coming-of-age celebrations in the Latino community for girls' fifteenth birthdays. I loved the personal storyline that Alvarez revealed to the reader, as we...more

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Jan 17, 2010 Allegra rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: grade-8-ir-books-rick

"Once upon a Quincanera" is a mix between one girls quincanera and Julia Alvarez's life and experience with quincaneras in the United States. In the book you learn that here in America, Quinces are over dramatized and usually involve the parents of the quince spending obscene amounts of money in order for thier daughter to achieve the perfect party.

I can make a text to self connection with this book. I understand why the girls who are having the quincanera's really want a big, lavish party, beca...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-books, non-fiction, social-issues

I'm not Hispanic or Latino, but accidentally marked that I was Hispanic on a standardized test once. I was on a mailing list for Hispanic summer camps, scholarships, and school clubs well into my sophomore year of college.

This book followed the author as she spent a year attending quinceaneras, researching the underlying traditions, and reflecting on her own upbringing as an immigrant caught between two cultures - not only her Dominican Republic heritage and new American culture but also the tr...more I'm not Hispanic or Latino, but accidentally marked that I was Hispanic on a standardized test once. I was on a mailing list for Hispanic summer camps, scholarships, and school clubs well into my sophomore year of college.

This book followed the author as she spent a year attending quinceaneras, researching the underlying traditions, and reflecting on her own upbringing as an immigrant caught between two cultures - not only her Dominican Republic heritage and new American culture but also the traditional, patriarch-centric culture of Latin America and the beginning waves of feminism in the U.S. Given the latter struggle, one of the initial issues Alvarez tackled was that of the quinceanera traditionally being the way a young woman's family officially "announces" to the community that she is ready to be married and begin a family of her own. While this isn't the case anymore, there are still strong patriarchal undertones in most quinceanera ceremonies. Interestingly, many of the young women Alvarez spoke with about their pending quinceaneras spoke as a "right of passage"; Alvarez notes that rites associated with traditions have a funny way of morphing into rights as the new generations feel entitled to what older, first generations struggled to obtain for them.

Alvarez also questions what, exactly, there is to celebrate with the gloomy statistics regarding female Latina/Hispanic teens. A 2005 national survey conducted by the CDC and DHHS revealed that 1 in 6 Latinas attempt suicide (a rate 1.5 times that of non-Hispanic black and white teenage girls), the highest teen pregnancy rate, highest high school drop-out rate (25%), and highest male high school drop-out rate (33%). Add to that the traditional "marianismo" culture that a large number of older Latina women are mired in (i.e. a quinceanera's mom), and it makes you wonder if the mothers are simply further propogating their own unrealized dreams for a fairy tale future for their daughters, depsite the bleak statistics they face.

Another interesting topic Alvarez explored was the concept of cultural capital, or non-monetary assets that are important for status in a community. This concept is particularly useful when you consider that Latinos/Hispanics are continually more likely to poor than other ethnic groups in study after study. However, many families still throw lavish quinceaneras for their daughters that are often beyond their means. Often spending on a quinceanera takes precedence over saving for her college expenses. The book also points out that "Hispanics tend to make immediate use of their money. Capital accumulation is not a characteristic of Hispanics, especially because being wealthy has a negative connotation... as the masses of Hispanics have endured slavery and endemic poverty over the past 500 years, the meaning of wealth has been associated with the experience of others, not oneself."

Many of the traditions associated with quinceaneras - the father changing his daughter's shoes to "grown-up" high heels, the court of 14, candle ceremony, etc. - are actually quite difficult to verify. At best, they seem to be an amalgamation of various subsets of Hispanic/Latino culture and at worst, an invented tradition. The definition of the latter is explained as traditions that "emerge in a less easily traceable manner within a brief and debatable period, establishing themselves with a great rapidity." They often appear when a group is undergoing transformation and serve as a way to legitimize and galvanize its members by establishing continuity with a past that may be largely fictitious.

Alvarez's writing style is more informal than most non-fiction books like this I've read; it feels like she's talking to me as a friend over coffee. She intersperses the text with Spanish words and phrases, which I think added a lot of flavor and interest. And while Alvarez explained overtly or through plenty of context clues, I still had Google Translator pulled up a lot, translating it for myself.

The only things that keep this book from being more than 3 stars for me is that there were some less interesting parts and the book was almost memoir-ish with Alvarez's frequent flashbacks to own coming of age. Which while it was interesting and technically fit with the topic, it also made it feel a little disjointed and messed with the flow. (less)

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Sep 13, 2007 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Armchair Sociologists

The author writes about quinceaneras, the Hispanic tradition of celebrating a girl's 15th birthday as her becoming a woman (sort of like a Bar Mitzpah in the Jewish culture). She discusses how commercialized and out of control these celebrations have become, burdening many low income families who feel they have to go all out, as well as the way they reinforce traditional patriarchal beliefs of presenting women as marriagable. She also explores the up side, that women get to feel like queens for...more

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Aug 14, 2007 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: women, people interested in cultural anthropology or anyone interested in quinceaneras

I was really surprised that Julia Alvarez was writing a nonfiction book about quinceaneras, because it seems like the "it's an exploding trend!" topic has been written about over and over again. The book does have some new things to say, though. Alvarez takes an in-depth look at what's wrong with the current quinceanera tradition and also what's valuable about it, from an anthroplogical standpoint. She talks about the crisis that young Latinas are facing, and whether or not this "rite of passage...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

I had to read this book for my English 10H class. The main purpose is to explore why Latinas in the US are being crowned princesses and then getting pregnant or dropping out of school. While it started off interesting, it was basically a never-ending research paper, full of interviews and quoting articles. Alvarez was extremely repetitive, and she changed her opinion on the issue in every chapter. She looked way too deeply into things that were unimportant, while ignoring the blatantly obvious f...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Shana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Julia Alvarez is one of my favorite authors, especially her novel In the Time of the Butterflies about the Trujillo dictatorship in the DR and four courageous sisters. Once Upon a Quinceañera is a work of non-fiction about the tradition and current practice of this Latin American coming of age custom/rite of passage. I have to say that I enjoy her fiction better, but I find quinces fascinating and it was neat reading about different girls’ experiences and the significance of it.

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Jun 08, 2010 Ellen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, this is my least favorite book by this writer, who is, incidentally, one of my absolute favorite authors and all of whose works I have read! She follows several American teens as they plan and experience their quinceaneras and reflects on her own coming of age (without such a celebration). I thought it would be much better than it was. I would recommend her essay collection "Something to Declare" or her most recent novel "Saving the World" much more than this.

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Feb 22, 2008 Toni rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: NOT women about to celebrate their Quince, culture nerds, fans of Alvarez

Shelves: culture, makeup-and-style

This is the first book of Julia Alvarez's that I have finished all the way through. It was somewhat informative, but there should have been two books. I imagine when writing about your own culture it is difficult to ignore the parallels of your own life, but including so much personal information discredits the research she has done. I realize she probably wasn't aiming towards a serious academic work, but one needs to be written. By publishing this "fluffy non-fiction she has not filled a void,...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Gconnolly rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fun account of the "quinceanera" or the fifteenth birthday celebration of a Latina that is quickly becoming a American event. This is a really informative guide to the tradition and rituals involved in preparing or even just attending one of these galas. It is also interesting to note how commercialized this tradition has become as now they can be ranked right up there with weddings and debutante balls. A real "Chic lit".

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Jan 17, 2011 Skylinebal added it

Julia Alvarez is one of my all-time favorite writers about the Immigrant experience. She spends a year exploring every aspect of Quinceaneras in the US. She shadowed four specific girls and interwove their stories with the broader background and literature. Living in Wenatchee where this is a big tradition for many Latino families, I was fascinated to learn so much about the complexities of what it all means.

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Mar 10, 2009 Rosa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Good Grief! This was pure fluff! And very disappointing coming from one of my favourite authors. This read like a term paper and really wasn't worth the effort or time. It basically focuses on the 15th birthday celebrations of Latinos in USA. I got the message after the first chapter the rest was the same thing over, and over again. Give this one a miss

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Jan 28, 2010 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been on an Alvarez kick for most of the month, reading several novels and essays, and now this, which seems to me unlike her other books. It's a look at the Hispanic custom of celebrating a girl's 15th birthday. Lots of historical and cultural info, along with stats and interviews, mixed with Alvarez's own teen years. Eye-opening for me.

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Jan 13, 2010 Bethany rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As written, I feel that this would've been better as a magazine article or essay. I found the first half of the book very interesting, but when she started talking about her divorces I quickly lost interest.

In the opening of the book she says she went to quinces in Lawrence, Mass. but never describes them. And she only devotes a small chapter to the "hurricane" quince in San Antonio. Disappointing at best.

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May 28, 2008 Kaite Stover rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, suitable-for-teens, audio-books, women-s-lives-and-relationships, read-in-2007

A much better listen than a read. Daphne Rubin Vega (of Rent fame) does a great job with the narration and captures all the voices of the girls very well, including that of the author.

This is a book that will only appeal to teen girls, and probably initially to Latinas, even thought the author addressed the social custom of coming-of-age parties, whether they are quinces or sweet sixteens. It's a bit too scholarly in tone and there's more information on the author's own childhood which doesn't g...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

The main points of the book: 1. Girls have quinceaneras to recognize their heritage, but the tradition as it is today has largely evolved in the United States. 2. The girls are treated as princesses at their quinceaneras, yet there is a high teen pregnancy and drop-out rate among hispanic females. The book is basically these two points repeated over and over. I feel like the author had enough information for an essay and had to stretch it into an entire book. She also told a lot of her own perso...more

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Sep 23, 2007 LFPL Teen Services rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: adults interested in learning more about quinceaneras

Shelves: coming-of-age, non-fiction

Half of this book was great; I loved the drama of the quince (yet didn't seem to be enough of Monica's story). I enjoyed the research that Julia Alvarez did, several time I "hmmph"-ed out loud. I do wonder why the author/editor spent so much time dwelling on her own coming of age and the absence of a quinceanera in her life. I suppose it was to wonder at her own outcome without having one.

I would have loved this story if Alvarez decided to weave each of the girls she interviewed stories into th...more

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About Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez was born in New York City. Her parents moved back to the Dominican Republic when Alvarez was 3 months old and she was raised there until she was 10, when the family moved back to NYC.

She is currently writer-in-residence at Middlebury College and the owner of a coffee farm named Alta Gracia, near Jarabacoa in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. The farm hosts a school to teach l...more

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