ILLUSTRATION PAPER“15 SPRINGS”
...rriageable age. At the end of the mass the quinceañera deposits her bouquet on the altar or in a niche honoring the Virgin Mary, most often that of the Virgen de Guadalupe. She also takes pictures with most all of her guests outside the church, which usually takes a while. She also hands out recuerdos (mementos) to her guest, so that they can have a way of remembering her quinceañera from all the others. At the end of all of this she gets to relax for a little bit. The quinceañera usually gets to ride around the town in a limousine with her chambelanes (chamberlains). In the meantime her family prepares the food and finishes decorating the hall for all the guests. This is the only time during that day that the quinceañera really gets to breathe. She doesn’t have to worry about anything. When she gets to the hall everything is so beautiful, the tables have tablecloths on them and ever table has a centerpiece. There are balloons and streamers everywhere, everything is color coordinated. The cake is a four-layer cake with a girl doll and a guy doll dressed identically to the way the quinceañera and her chambelan (chamberlain) are dressed. There are two ladders on either side escalating down the cake with fourteen little guy dolls, seven on each side. The guests are already there and they’re already eating. She goes around to each table and thanks them for being there, for sharing such an important moment with her. Once she’s thanked everybody she eats at her own table with all her chambelanes (chamberlains). Other indispensable highlights include a customary toast and the cutting of a multi-tiered birthday cake. The culminating moment comes when the festejada (celebrant) and her father dance the first waltz. After this her number-one chambel...