Wearing a red dress with beautiful sparkly red flowers shining in the light, sophomore Fatima Montoya stands on the dance floor ready to perform her bile sopressa at her quinceanera. 

Having her friends and family there for her was very special for her because it showed that they cared very much, she said. 

Montoya had her quince on Nov. 12 of this year. As female students start having their quinceaneras during sophomore year, people start receiving invitations to numerous parties.  

“Having a quince means a lot because it’s a moment in your life where you’re like, ‘Oh, like I’m all grown up,’ and it’s a big moment where you and your parents and your whole family get to get together and spend time with each other and see how much you’ve grown,” Montoya said. 

 Montoya had her theme as flowers. She had dusty rose ivory and white flowers in there, and her dress was red because she liked things to be simple yet elegant.

Montoya didn’t just buy her dress, but hers aunt made it. She did go to Mexico over the summer to go see her aunt and the dress.

“I got to go to El Centro, and go shop with my aunt for materials for the dress, so it was a really fun experience,”  Montoya said.

Sophomore Valeria Martinez has wanted a quince ever since she was little. She said she chose to have one because it was a tradition in her family and in her country, and she was inspired by attending all her cousins’ quinces. Martinez’s theme of her quince was a masquerade.

“I did that theme because I wanted something kind of like the Phantom of the Opera and something that everyone can kind of be included with like masks and everything,” Martinez said.

Martinez’s dress was red and gold, and she said she picked that color because she loved how it suited her. 

“It looked really good on me and it suited my skin color and my hair, and I thought it was just meant for me,” she said  

Martinez had her quince in Mexico City in El Centro, which is the historic city center, so her friends and family traveled there. She was born in the U.S., so she said it was a privilege to have it in her parents’ home country, bringing her family closer. 

“I loved everything about my quince,” she said. “I would definitely have it again if I could, and I’ll just miss being with my family in Mexico,” she said. 

Having a quince and getting to celebrate her culture and celebrate becoming a woman meant something to sophomore Mia Hendrix. Her theme was Hollywood, and she had that idea after being inspired by a Kanye song.

“I chose the color red for my dress because I thought I went with like red carpet,” she said.

Hendrix had a stressful time shopping for her dress because she said she is very picky. But one day she tried on a dress that she said she wouldn’t like and wound up loving it. 

“I went to go try on my dress with my mom and my tia, and they both really loved it,” she said. “Then, I turned it on in front of my dad and he cried.”