On Oct. 17 Latinos Unidos ended their Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations with the annual Quinceanera Dance Performance. The event took place in the commons during all three lunch periods, and the event aims to celebrate Latin diversity and the beauty of cultural traditions.
A quinceañera is a celebration that takes place on a girl’s fifteenth birthday, marking the transition from girlhood to womanhood in Latin culture. Girls start preparing months in advance, finding a dress, rehearsing their dances and planning the event. On the day of the quinceañera, a religious ceremony takes place followed by a large party with family and friends. While the dances and dresses bring the celebration to life, it is the assent into womanhood that makes the event such an important moment for a Latin girl.
“My quince was pretty big,” Clarisa Castillo, senior and Latinos Unidos co-president, said. “It was around 300 people, a lot of people from different countries and different states came. Because everyone comes together to celebrate that one person, it’s just a really big celebration.”
The school event acts as a small glimpse into what a quinceañera is like. The dresses and the dances are the primary aspects being highlighted in the commons. A quinceañera consists of three dances, the Entrance Waltz (El Vals), a Surprise Dance (Baile de Sorpresa), and the Father/Mother-Daughter Dance (Baile de Mama/Papa). The Latinos Unidos student choreographers are tasked with condensing elements of these dances into a single ten-minute performance.
“It takes a lot of preparation,” Norelly Avina, Latinos Unidos club co-sponsor, said. “ We start at the beginning of the year, asking girls who have had quinceaneras who might want to be a part of the dance. Then we have our seniors and our juniors choreograph everything. They pick the music, they make the dance steps, and then we have after-school dance practices.”
This year’s dance was choreographed by Castillo and fellow senior Estefany Rivas. The two have participated in the event for the last three years and were excited to help create this year’s dance.
“We came together, we made up a dance and we taught the girls and the boys,” Castillo said. “It was a really fun process to figure out, starting the dance and finishing it, and seeing the final steps today.”
The club co-sponsors recognize that the dances are most often remembered for the big dresses and lively music, but they also see how the underlying motivation for the event shines through.
“My favorite part is seeing students just so excited and happy,” Diane Oliveros, Latinos Unidos club co-sponsor said. “Even when we just play music in the lunchroom, people are dancing and having fun. That’s a big part of our culture.”
Latinos Unidos members hope that by showcasing this tradition, and exposing non-Latin students to elements of the culture, all members of the York community can learn from one another. Each student brings their unique self to the school, and by sharing those individual experiences with others, students can benefit from the individual identities that surround them.
“It’s really important for people outside of the club to know where we come from and what we do,” Oliveros said. “It’s really important to show off what our traditions are and our culture overall.”
Latinos Unidos strives to provide a sense of community for Latin students and allies. They share these experiences through their Hispanic Heritage Month activities, but this cultural outlet exists year-round.
“I think it’s important to feel like you have a community,” Avina said. “For York, Latinos Unidos is one of the biggest clubs that does that. It’s important to find your community, to feel like you have a place, and Latinos Unidos does that for a lot of students”
