Colorful quincea\u00f1era dresses line the inside of the small boutique. Glitter is scattered all over the floors. Porcelain dolls and diamond-encrusted crowns sit atop a large shelf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wendy Griselda Medina Cartagena, the owner of Anita\u2019s Boutique in Tacoma, sits in a small corner of the store while her 19-year-old daughter Julia Teresa Ramos Medina sits on the floor, hot-gluing decorations to champagne glasses for a \u201cbrindis,\u201d or toasting set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cartagena owns one of the last quincea\u00f1era boutiques in Tacoma, according to Google search and Mapa Latino created by Latinx Unidos. Her shop, named after her eldest daughter, has been open since September 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A quincea\u00f1era is a traditional celebration of a girl\u2019s 15th birthday that marks the end of her girlhood and the start of womanhood. The tradition has roots in Mexico but is celebrated all over Latin America. This tradition is similar to a Sweet 16 celebration in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angharad N. Valdivia, chair of the Latina\/Latino Studies Department and professor at the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois, said in an interview that, as with all cultural rituals, there is never an agreement on where they began, but they are widely celebrated in many parts of Latin America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valdivia said that in the United States, these celebrations assert the community\u2019s presence by letting the broader community know that Latinos exist and are celebrating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt becomes a way to assert identity, presence, and visibility, despite efforts or tendencies to erase or silence a population,\u201d Valdivia said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valdivia said that quince\u00f1eras are now showing up in mass media. However, when they do appear, they\u2019re often not culturally sensitive and fail to include important rituals and traditions such as the changing of the shoes from flat shoes into high heels to symbolize the transition into adult femininity. At times, they can also appear to be done spontaneously, when in reality, these celebrations take a lot of preparation and labor and are often planned at least a year in advance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
All rituals change over time, said Valdivia. Small changes may include changing the last dance to include reggaeton, merengue, or hip-hop instead of a waltz, while bigger changes include making quincea\u00f1eras more inclusive to queer, non-binary, and transgender individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of these kinds of inclusivity that are coming to the forefront in recent years also come up in quincea\u00f1eras,\u201d Valdivia said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n