A Quinceañera in New York City
“Quinceañera” translated from Spanish means “Fifteenth birthday” or “A girl celebrating her fifteenth birthday”, but in reality it is a major event in a girl’s life within the Latino culture. Turning fifteen for a girl, or having her “Quinceañera” celebration is a coming of age celebration, when a girl is then considered a woman.
Within the Latino culture it is immensely important and families from all walks of life with that culture invest in the celebration almost as if it were a wedding. Depending on the family, the Latin American country they are from or their own personal preferences, many different symbolic ceremonies are performed throughout the party.
I am personally half Latina (my mother is from Colombia, my father from Ireland), but I never got to celebrate my fifteenth birthday in this way because I moved to Colombia just after I turned fifteen! The Latino culture is always very close to my heart so I throughly enjoyed photographing this event and the family hosting it were absolutely great. And to make things even better, the “Quinceañera” and her friends were bombarding me with ideas and poses which made for a great selection of photographs that I’m sure they will look back on with a smile.
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