Once Upon A Quinceanera By Julia Alvarez

Assimilation and Retroculturation

When people are forced to make a choice between keeping their own roots and blending into the mainstream culture, many people tend to assimilate into the mainstream culture. Blending into the mainstream means new opportunities and better lives, but keeping old identities make them get the sense of belonging. There are numerous ways for people to keep their roots. In the essay “Once Upon a Quinceanera”, Julia Alvarez follows the female “coming-of-age” tradition known among Hispanic communities as quinceanera. In the end, she finds in order to give young Latina women a sense of empowerment and individual importance, the tradition must be redefined in a way that reflects and embodies the values and desires of

On one hand, when people pursue something that they really want, they will spend their total assets to get it. Alvarez illustrates the cost for quinceanera by saying, “they threw the house out the window for that girl’s quinceanera” (54). The expense for the quinceanera is enormous as the average cost for those young girls is $5000. On that day, girls are dressed like brides wearing ornate clothes. At the same time, they invite many relatives and friends to witness this moment. For poor families whose income is so little that leads to living in a rented house, they still spend much money on this ceremony. They spend the same amount of money as they “throw the apartment” to hold a luxurious ceremony rather than hold a cheap one. Although a quinceanera is one of the most important rites in their country, the high cost can lead people to be in debt. Sunita, a financial advisor, helps couples to solve the financial problems about a quinceanera for their daughters. Many women do not make a budget for the rite that result in debt. Thus, Sunita asks the parents to hold an appropriate quinceanera for their daughters. On the other hand, when people find they are very poor, they will choose to get better living conditions, even at the expense of losing their roots. When peoples’ customs have conflict with opportunities, they have to give up one to get the other. Munoz describes the drawbacks of assimilation by saying,

As there are increasing numbers of young Hispanics in America, Hispanics and Americans pay much attention to a quinceanera. As Alvarez says, “by the third generation,… they have this special something that makes them unique,…they make a concerted effort to hold on their traditions, to establish cultural ties with their past”(56). When the first Hispanic generation arrives in America, they abandon their identities and try to blend into American culture. Due to it, the second generation almost does not know how to speak Spanish and is not familiar with Hispanic culture. However, the third generation wants to get their own culture back. As a result, people in the third generation speak Spanish more often than those from the first and second generations. A Quinceanera is the only good event for them to get their culture back. In the past, most people learn their traditions from the elderly, but those young Hispanics cannot get information about quinceanera from the elderly now as most of them passed away. As a result, many merchants find businesses involved with quinceaneras. Will Cain is the owner of the magazine called Quince Girl. This magazine aims to help young Hispanic girls to learn about the traditions and trends of quinceaneras. At the same time, there are many similar magazines in America.