Turning 15 in Julia Alvarez's Book, Once Upon a Quinceañera

Julia Alvarez in her book, Once Upon a Quinceañera, explores the quince tradition from cultural, historical and personal angles. Herein, she seeks to clarify some of the myths and ideas that surround this tradition from the notion that quinceañeras are from old Aztec traditions to the idea that this rite has been passed down from one Latino generation to another. She discovers that most contemporary quinces are firsts for many families and are different from those of the past. Consequently, the tradition depicts a group that is experiencing transformation who seek to establish their roots in a past that is somehow bleak. Many have often described the US has a melting pot of cultures. Therefore, Americans from different cultures find themselves amalgamating their values with those of the American society, thus affecting the overall culture of their communities. In Once Upon a Quinceañera, the author demonstrate and applies the cultural myth of melting pot.

The Latinos make up close to 16 percent of the total American population, thus becoming the 2nd largest ethnic community. Just like many other migrant populations, the Latinos seek to keep in touch with their Hispanic traditions and cultures. As Alvarez puts it, children born in the US are thus taught certain cultural events and values so as to maintain their lineage. The most common one as discussed by Alvarez in her book is the quinceañera. This refers to a girl’s celebration as she reaches fifteen. This day of celebration is supposed to mark a girl’s transition from being a child to an adult woman. Among other traditional symbols, these parties are huge and include choreographed dances and ball gowns.

However, Latino girls in the US prefer celebrating their quinceañeras ...

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...añera has been lost.

To conclude, this essay has looked at several ways in which the melting pot myth has been represented in Once Upon a Quinceañera by Julia Alvarez. Practicing one’s cultural beliefs is a very noble idea because it keeps ones culture alive and passed down from one generation to the next. This is what Alvarez describes in her book regarding the quinceañera tradition. However, these coming of age celebrations in America have encountered the MTV era where festivities focus more on the extravagance than on the real coming of age Hispanic culture. Quinceañeras have now become corrupted because they teach girls how to behave irresponsibly when they become women. Furthermore, the ritual itself has now become a show off. It is for these reasons that Alvarez fears the future generation will totally deviate from the original intent of holding quinces.