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Then she steps through the worn, wooden doors of St. Joseph's, a
Roman Catholic parish for generations of poor, Hispanic
immigrants, and into a 20-seat white Hummer limo that rents for
$150 an hour.
Before long, a stretch Lincoln Town Car arrives for the next
Quinceañera Mass.
An elaborate coming-of-age ritual for Hispanic girls on their
15th birthday, the Quinceañera has long been divisive in the
U.S. Catholic Church, where it's viewed as either an exercise in
excess or a great opportunity to send a message about faith and
sexual responsibility.
The latter view won an important endorsement last summer, when
the Vatican approved a new set of prayers for U.S. dioceses
called Bendición al cumplir quince años, or Order for the
Blessing on the Fifteenth Birthday.
Consider it an acknowledgment of the changing face of American
Catholicism. Latinos account for nearly 40 percent of the
nation's 65 million Catholics and 71 percent of new U.S.
Catholics since 1960, studies show.
Here in the Archdiocese of Denver, Latino ministry leaders view
the Quinceañera craze as not just a chance to strengthen faith
and family, but as a weapon against teen pregnancy.
Before Reyes could get her Quinceañera Mass, she and her parents
had to enroll in a four-week curriculum introduced last year at
Latino-dominated parishes that combines Catholicism 101 with a
strong pro-chastity message.
``Some girls come to the class expecting to be taught how to
dance,'' said Alfonso Lara, the archdiocese's Hispanic Ministry
coordinator.
The girls in Reyes' class gathered in a stuffy room with a map
of México on the wall and a crucifix on the table.
One lesson included tips for safe dating (avoid dating Web sites
in favor of group outings in public places like the mall or
family barbecues). Then there is an explanation of the
difference between simple abstinence (a way to avoid pregnancy
and sexually transmitted diseases), and chastity (living like
Jesus and Mary).
Monica Reyes is the model pupil. Once her Quinceañera is over,
the high school junior her sister calls a ``girl's girl'' will
be allowed to go to parties and date, as many of her classmates
do. But Reyes isn't eager to join them.
``I'm still too young,'' she said. ``I could have a bad
experience. So I'd rather wait.''
In México and other Latin American countries, the Quinceañera
once signaled that a girl was officially on the marriage market.
The downside to that legacy: The Quinceañera Mass is sometimes
seen as sexual coming-of-age moment.
Although teen pregnancy rates have generally been in decline
across ethnic lines over the last 15 years, 51 percent of Latina
teens get pregnant before age 20, according to the National
Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
``Even now, immigrant parents don't talk to their young
daughters about sex,'' said Timothy Matovina, director of the
Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism at the
University of Notre Dame. ``There is not an open conversation
going on about the value of waiting till marriage or the
economic pitfalls of becoming a single mother.''
Matovina said the Denver archdiocese's efforts will resonate
with some families and be ignored by others, much like couples
who go through the motions of marriage preparation classes to
get a church wedding.
A
blend of European court traditions and ceremonies from Latin
American countries, the Quinceañera at times has the feel of an
out-of-control prom in the United States.
A
$400 million-a-year industry has sprouted up catering to Latino
immigrants seeking to maintain cultural traditions while showing
they've made it in their new countries, offering everything from
Quinceañera planners and cruises to professional ballroom
dancers to teach the ceremonial waltz.
At the same time, the ritual is a point of tension with the
Catholic Church because Catholic families want their faith to be
part of the celebration yet it isn't a sacrament, like marriage.
The Reyes family does not attend Mass regularly, but would never
consider the Quinceañera legitimate without the blessing of a
priest. A portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe watches over the
living room of the family's apartment.
``The reason to have the Mass is to be blessed, and to say
thanks to God,'' said Monica's mother, Luz.
The family spared no expense, and the tension showed at times.
Walking out of St. Joseph's in her gold lame dress, Luz Reyes
said to no one in particular, ``Money, money, money.''
The family estimates it spent a staggering $20,000 on the
Quinceañera, relying on savings, family and friends to pay for
two limos, rental of a banquet hall, a buffet of Mexican and
American comfort food, dresses, a DJ and more.
The cost is one reason that Monica's 14-year-old sister,
Marisol, shared the church altar and dance floor with her older
sister. The family couldn't fathom finding the money for another
Quinceañera so soon.
Lara, of the Denver Archdiocese, said one goal of the classes is
to send the message that it's all right to arrive at church in a
minivan instead of a Hummer—unless there's plenty of money to
send the girl to college, too.
The expense is worth it to the Reyes family, even if only now
they will begin saving for college.
``It's a prize for them being good,'' Luz Reyes said.
It's also the U.S.-American dream realized. Reyes is giving her
daughters something she never got growing up in Ciudad Juárez,
Mexico, where her Quinceañera dress was a tattered gown and
dessert was a simple layer cake.
There were perhaps 15 people at the Reyes' Quinceañera Mass. The
rental hall, Martha's Golden Palace, has a capacity of 500, and
Monica welcomed most of her classmates, a favorite teacher and
the police officer assigned to her high school.
After an hour, the DJ turned down the deafening border music and
strobe lights, and played the waltz that Monica and her court
had been practicing for weeks in her apartment complex parking
lot.
Later, Monica wiped away tears as she danced with her
grandfather.
On the dance floor, she changed from flat shoes into heels,
signaling her departure from childhood.
Her first meal as a woman was a bowl of beans washed down with
strawberry soda.
``The big thing isn't to have a party,'' Monica said. ``It's
that you're going from a little girl to a woman. You're thanking
God you have been in this world for 15 years.'' |
