Quinceañera hopping

Here is an old blog post I wrote back in September that I am finally getting to posting. Its’ relevance to my Peace Corps service is preserved.

Going to quinceañeras in Colombia is one of the many unexpected things that make up my service. I consider myself to be the ultimate gringa quinceañera hopper. Last night Maya (my site mate) and I went to a quinceañera with Yuli (My best 17-year-old costeña friend) and Alex (my best dance teacher friend). We arrived a little late to the party. Yuli came to my house and needed me to do her makeup and she took a while to get ready, (okay so did I). Colombians take these types of parties very seriously and go all out in terms of makeup, hair, outfits.

We walked in and stood in the middle of the party trying to figure out what to do next – two gringas and one 17-year- old Colombian waiting awkwardly for Alex to escort us to our seats. The birthday girl, Yuliana, looked beautiful. She was wearing a long yellow dress with a crown and makeup beautifully done. Alex sat us on the side of the dance floor, and away from the rest of the guests. Right away we noticed how each table was being handed a bottle of Aguardiente (Colombia’s hard liquor drink of choice). The man in charge walked over with a bottle and left it on our table. I was in the middle of doing a “no drink September” month, but I couldn’t let the two girls drink a whole bottle alone!

The three of us were having a good time, drinking and chatting, until the power went out at 10:30, only 30 minutes after we got there. This was not surprising, in coastal Colombia the power goes out pretty frequently. The power outage can last anywhere from 5 minutes to a couple of hours. I felt bad for la quinceañera – but this didn’t seem to stop the party. The same aguardiente man came over and brought us another bottle. A band came out and started playing music and Alex grabbed us to dance in the dark. This actually worked out in our favor because Maya and I are usually stared at as foreigners, especially when we dance – Colombians find it quite amusing when gringos dance – and this way we could let loose and have a good time sin pena, without worries of being seen.

Quinceañeras are similar to sweet sixteens in the U.S., a young girl’s coming of age, but for her fifteenth birthday. There are many typical traditions in Colombia, where the family prepares everything such as decorations, food, videos, and may pay for a place to host it or have it at their home. When la quinceañera finally enters the party, slow music is played while the dad puts a heel on his daughter and they dance the waltz. It is typical for the parties to have various dance routines throughout the night (my favorite part).

One of the routines involves a designated group of friends of la quinceañera, usually around 5 boys and 5 girls, that they practice for months before the birthday. This is why I get invited to so many quinceañeras – because my good friend Alex organizes these dances. Unfortunately, the night of Yuliana’s party, the power never came back, so the group ended up performing in the dark while guests shined their flashlights on the dance floor to see. I am always impressed by Colombians resourcefulness and ability to make a good party out of flawed circumstances.

I never expected that going to 15-year-old birthday parties would be such a highlight of my Peace Corps social life and so fun. They have been a wonderful opportunity for integration and meeting new people (even though the music is usually blasting making it difficult to communicate) a learning experience, and a good time to get dressed up and dance, really experiencing the coastal culture. Once again a Peace Corps experience reminds me that it’s the little things that make life fun and worth living 😀