While most girls dream of a big fancy wedding, a quinceañera is the dream of a Hispanic girl. Usually taking up to a year to plan and even more to save up for, the meaning and tradition behind it are more beautiful and significant than the party itself.

The meaning of a quinceañera is that the girl enters young adulthood. This means that she is now more independent and has more liberty. Having a boyfriend and wearing makeup are some of the liberties she may now have, depending on the quinceañera’s parents. (The word “quinceañera” — the feminine form of “15-year-old” in Spanish — applies to both the celebration and the girl herself.)

To start off the celebration, there’s a church ceremony especially for the quinceañera. Only her family, her court of honor, and close friends attend. After church they go to a nice park where a photographer takes pictures, although there is usually a photoshoot for just her before the actual day.

After the photoshoot they may have a limo or a party bus take the quinceañera and her court to the reception, where the celebration will be held. Usually the schedule is like this: dinner, change of shoes, father-daughter dance, waltz, dance, surprise dance, and dance again. It usually finishes at about 1 a.m.

The change of shoes is when the dad changes the girl’s shoes into her “first” pair of heels. This means that she is now a grown girl. Then she has her first dance of the night with her dad. Next she dances with her grandpa and her godfather.

After the father-daughter dance, the quinceañera and her court do the waltz, for which they have probably practiced at least a month. Once this is over, they start the actual dance. When the band takes a break, they cut the cake and do the toast. They then resume the dance. A final break is taken for the surprise dance, also performed by the girl and her court.

The day after the quinceañera, there is an after party, and all the guests are welcome to attend. Breakfast is served, and this also goes on all day.

This is a beautiful tradition which some girls may or may not have.

About her own quinceañera in December, Maria Tiscareño said, “I liked that it was the exact day of my 15th birthday…. It was very fun. I liked being the center of attention.”