7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I was looking for, but good nonetheless, September 23, 2007
This review is from: Once Upon a Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA (Hardcover)
I just finished the book Once upon a Quinceanera by Julia Alvarez. I picked it up, hoping to gain more insight into the rituals and religious significance of the quince. When I've said this to people, they almost always tell me something to the effect of, "oh, that's easy. It's a hispanic girl's coming-of-age." Yeah. No kidding? I'm looking for a little more depth here.
If my encounters' answer was too vague (not to mention obvious), Alvarez's response was way too deep. It was not so much about the celebration itself, but more of an examination of the issues adolescent girls face in the US in general, compounded by the additional issues particular to young latinas. It was a very interesting study in the success and failure of said girls, feminism minus man-hating, and the pros and cons of the quinceanera. But not as an outsider looking in. Alvarez herself had a difficult time finding the balance between being the good Dominican girl, and pursuing her own dreams and interests-loyalty to la familia, pursuing her education and being an intellectual, staying afloat professionally in a male-dominated time where it was difficult to be hispanic, let alone a woman.
Though it was not what I was looking for, I liked it. Though I myself am not hispanic, I found myself identifying with Alvarez throughout the book. It was interesting and entertaining.
-kendra
Big Box Pro Video Productions
Corpus Christi, Texas
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful look at a tradition that is holding steadfast but changing at the same time, January 16, 2008
This review is from: Once Upon a Quinceanera: Coming of Age in the USA (Hardcover)
Award-winning novelist Julia Alvarez has turned her gift for human analysis toward some very real young people in ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA, a probing and utterly readable look into the tradition of the "quinceanera," the coming-of-age party celebrated by Latina women around the globe.
In the wake of MTV's success with sweet 16 shows (in which young girls and their families spend wedding-sized amounts of money on a party where the bling outweighs any cultural significance the occasion might have) and the growing cost of a decent Bat/Bar Mitzvah in these concerned-with-wealth times in America, Alvarez looks at families, native and immigrant, who are still living below the well-to-do line and yet spend upwards of a year's mortgage payments or college tuition to make sure that their young daughter enters the "adult" world in style.
It's not just the money that disturbs Alvarez. Having come to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic around the time that she would have celebrated her own coming-of-age, she watches anxiously and sometimes enviously upon girls who don't seem to understand why this tradition is so important to young Latinas. Viewing it only as that --- a giant bling-filled party to impress their friends --- takes away from the rich traditions built into the ceremonies of the quinceanera: the changing of her shoes from flats to heels during the party, signifying her march into adulthood; the doll she carries, the last vestige of childish pursuits she's allowed to enjoy; and the church ceremony, where her grown-up responsibilities are acknowledged before God and the community.
Alvarez, who never had her own quince, delves with planners and family members into what, if anything, they remember from their own quinces and how they might incorporate the more stealthy values associated with the rituals into these girls' lives. When she speaks with the young women themselves, it's clear that most of them look upon this as their moment to become a "princess" --- indeed, one has her friends dress like Disney princess characters --- and that the money and energy that their parents, some of whom are struggling in this harsh economic system, are putting into this event is their right. They are, for good or bad, like the average American teen who thinks Beyonce is queen of the world and Jay-Z, her prince, is exactly what everyone should be looking for.
At times, it's devastating to read the accounts of how these children are so expectant but don't really understand the changes that this bash is supposed to represent --- and it's clear that Alvarez finds it sad as well. Traditions maintained are supposed to mean something --- but in present-day America, they can be just another excuse to act like overgrown kids or irresponsible adults. She keeps her cool and withholds serious judgment on these children of American entitlement, recognizing with poignancy the struggles of their parents to hold on to dear cultural strengths while trying to assimilate into the broader Bush-driven selfishness and extravagance.
The book's most appealing moments come from Alvarez's descriptive look at the craziness surrounding the day of the event and from her own recollections of growing up in the same area in Queens where she follows one family through this intense experience.
ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA is a wonderful look at a tradition that is holding steadfast but changing at the same time. And, most of all, it's about the difficult job mothers and fathers have raising beautiful young daughters in these superficial times.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and Entertaining, April 6, 2009
I am a student at the University of Maryland in College Park and read this book for an American Studies class. We had to choose a book to write a review about, but the book had to be a testimonio of sorts. I chose this book because I thought it would be interesting to learn a little more about the Quinceanera tradition. I am a Latina myself and I cannot say that I knew a lot about the history of the tradition before reading this book.
The book was an eye-opener when it comes to the life of young Latinas growing up in the United States today. I am one of them and even I did not realize some of these things. I did not know that Latina women are at the top of the statistic charts when it comes to high risk behavior like drugs, alcohol, and teenage pregnancy. Alvarez does an amazing job of using the Quinceanera tradition and showing various themes throughout the book. For example, what does a Quinceanera instill in a young Latina? When one thinks about it, it really does encourage the young to girl marry, have children, and be a devoted wife and mother. It does not really encourage the girl to be truly independent and value things like education. Even the father of the young girl who Alvarez follows in the novel mentions this when he says that, "Years ago, you hoped to be able to give your daughter a wedding. Today, though, you don't know if they are ever going to get married or just live with the guy like they do here. Why not give them something like that while we can?" And that something for them is the Quinceanera.
I really recommend this book, especially to young Latinas growing up in the U.S., it is great in terms of learning a lot more about the history of the Quinceanera. However, the book is truly great at showing how difficult it truly is to be a young Latina coming of age in the United States.
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