The traditions behind those colorful quinceanera dresses and how they have changed in time

The quinceanera is one of the most important milestones in the lives of Hispanic girls and families, 

so it no wonder that there are a wide variety of stores which specialize in selling quinceanera dresses and other accessories and gifts for this huge and colorful celebration.

Some websites offer high-fashion and custom-made couture quinceanera dresses for those families who want to make the coming of age celebration for their 15 year old princesses an unforgettable and unique event.

There are companies which will organize the entire quinceanera party, with all the traditional elements included in them.

Unfortunately, as a number of other religious or national traditions, the “fiesta quince anos” as the quinceanera is also called has become so commercialized, that the girls celebrating their first important momentous event and step into womanhood truly forget what the celebration is all about.

We can see this in the large number of hilarious and shocking online collections of pictures of the most outrageous quinceanera dresses.  Some of them are pure kitsch and others are just plain ugly.

In actuality, the 15^th birthday of a Hispanic girl is meant to be like a rite of passage from childhood to womanhood. Girls from Cuba, Mexico and Paraguay, as well as a number of Latinos have special traditions for this celebration for their grown up girls. 

It is believed that the tradition was first initiated by the Aztecs, who would formally introduce their 15 year old daughters as eligible for marriage.   They would teach the young girl how to cook, clean and perform other household duties as she approached the age of 15. 

After Latin America was colonized, the Catholic traditions overtook the native ones, and gradually turned the quinceanera into a more religious celebration.

Even though, the tradition continues to date, modern families usually encourage their 15 years old to continue on with their education, rather than set them up for getting married at such a young age.

Of course, all celebrations involve a lot of colors, food, dancing, music and fun, and of course the walk of the young girl into womanhood, and this is symbolized by the big and in most cases beautiful quinceanera dresses.  The young girls wear high heels, makeup and colorful blue, pink, green, red and just about any other color quince gowns which generally represent femininity.

Today, planning the quinceanera can be similar to planning a wedding, including picking a venue, sending out invitations, hiring catering, decoration, DJs or bands, hiring escorts and of course choosing one of the incredible and unique quinceanera dresses available.