Julia Alvarez Quinceanera

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Julia Alvarez’s opinion on Hispanics spending great sums of money on rituals like the quince is neutral. She states that “Every girl should have one”, which means she encourages every girl to have quinceanera’s as it is a part of their culture that turns a girl into a woman, and also it brings their families together sort of like a reunion. On the other hand she also talks about “Throwing the house out of the window”(54), by that she means that the quinceanera’s are so expensive that the people who cannot afford it also celebrate it in order to show their wealth. It is like a “Status” symbol for the people. She mentions the example of Patrica Saldarriaga, a professor whose daughter had to celebrate her quinceanera even when she did not want to just because of her father’s status(62). People who cannot affod these lavish celebrations then go in debt which later causes problems. She asks herself “Why cannot they do both?’(62). Why can’t they celebrate their daughters quinceanera and also not go in debt. She feels the need for their culture to be revised to work better for them in the new realities they are facing right now. In my opinion I would say that I agree with the authors opinion of doing both, celebrating the quinceanera and also not going into debt. I understand that it is a status symbol for the people but its all about throwing a fiesta, a celebration of their daughter girls turning into women, its not about throwing the whole house out of the window. They can still continue their ritual and also protect the family from going into debt causing more

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