Adrian the male quinceañera

So around here, a girl's fifteenth birthday is a huge deal. It's a coming-of-age ritual. Families go all out to throw a big party, at which the quinceañera comes out at midnight to the applause of family and friends, sometimes escorted down the stairs by her father, then dances with every male relative and friend there, there are speeches, cake, dancing, etc.

Or so I hear. I've never actually been to a quinceañera party. But two weekends ago was a similar thing for my friend Adrian, celebrating his 18th birthday, which is the comparable coming-of-age birthday for young men.

My guy friends got all dressed up in their suits and looked snazzy. Most of the girls including me went in jeans and semi-nice tops; I would have worn nicer pants if I'd known how formal a deal this actually was. We got there early at 11:00, and sat around embarassed for half an hour because Adrian's family was all dressed up in suits and dress clothes, etc. There was a DJ, a disco ball, a cake that looked like a wedding cake. Adrian came out at 12:00 midnight, announced by the DJ, everybody clapped, and then a cool thing happened. He danced with his mom, then his grandma, aunts, cousins, little sister, etc, with the DJ naming each person as she stepped up to dance with him. And when they finished the family, they started naming friends! There must have been a list because the DJ definitely did not know me, and yet I got called in turn too. It was special because it emphasized not only Adrian's coming-of-age birthday, but also his relationships with each and every one of the people surrounding him, family and friends alike. Each woman called by name to dance with him was a special part of his life worth recognition.

After all the dances and speeches by the mom, dad, aunt, grandmother, Adrian, etc, the living room turned into a discoteca! I left "early" at 3:00 am.