Once Upon a Quinceañera Review

Once Upon a Quinceanera, was a interesting book. I'm not sure I would recommend it, because I didn't really like most of the book. I if you like to learn about different culture and traditions, then this is the book for you. This book contains many examples of how traditions from an other country is passed on to others. This book also contains a lot of information about a Quinceanera in details. I learned a lot when reading this book. I recommend this book because you learn a lot, and it gives you a better understanding on what a Quinceanera, really is.

I would want people to read this book to learn more about how a traditional Quinceanera, has changed over the years because more and more people are immigrating here and celebrating it here in the United States. I would recommend this book because, the book is not just about a Quinceanera but, immigration and the hardships families deal with when arriving in a new country. When reading this book you'll have so many connections to the character that you'll feel as if the author is writing about you.

I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, I think that I would recommend this book to girls. Once Upon a Quinceanera, talks a lot about teen age girls, and what they go through. Mixed in with family, tradition, culture, immigration and much more. Not everyone who reads this book is going to like it, but I do know that people who read it are going to learn something new.

Overall I didn't find this book to interesting, but most parts of the book I could relate to, and a lot of parts made me think about different traditions and different people, that are out there. This book sends a message to migrated families and teen age girls. I recommend this book, and hope people learn or understand the message it sends.

Once Upon a Quinceanera

Post #6

Quote I
"Did I believe in this Q-tradition or not? Yes or no. Si y no. Back and forth. At dinner parties, I'd relate the details of some Q-extravaganza I'd just been to or heard or read about, and as my friends shook their heads and compared quinceaneras to the run ways bar and BatMatzvan, I'd find myself backtracking, wanting to defend nuestra tradicion."

Significance

I picked this quote because it has a lot of background information on the feelings that go through this characters head. She feels as if her group of friends, think a lot differently about her tradition in a way she doesn't agree on. I think that this also shows how she respeects her tradition, and that sometimes when your friends say something you don't agree on you either don't say anything or you agree with them, even though you really don't want to.

Personal Connection

This has happened to me before, and I've noticed that people agree based on what your friends say or think is right, sometimes your idea on what something is may not be something your okay with saying to a group of people who all agree on one thing. I sometime don't want to back up and defend my tradition and culture, but most of the time I feel like I have to.


Question

Did you ever feel like you have to agree with everyone else because your afraid people won't agree with your oppinion?

Quote II

"I was a part of something timeless, hard to name or contain. "Something was growing inside of me," says Estrella as her special night approaches in Estrella's Quinceanera. "A feelings I hadn't had in a long time. I was part of something bigger. I truly belonged."

Significance

Basically this quote is saying that when you are apart of something like a quinceanera, you feel something special, somthing you can't compare to anything else. The first quote I talked about how her feelings got a hold of her and, she felt as if she needed to speak up because her friends were comparing it to many things that she didn't think had nothing to do with a quinceanera.

Personal Connection

When I'm celebrating something in my tradition with my family, I feel as if we all share something special that you can't compare with anyone or anything else. I think I know how this character feels in the book because, I don't think that someone who doesn't celebrate your tradition or knows about your culture can't really agree or dissagree with what it's like because they wouldn't really know much about what it mean to celebrate something they don't and you do.

Question

Do you think Estrella was right, about her friends? How? and why?

Once Upon a Quinceanera #5

Post #5

Quote I

"The Quince Años blessing publicity acknowledges this historic role.” - Page 179


Significance

This quote stood out to me because, Monica acknowledged that most I think. Which shows that she is one of the women in the book who cares a lot about her historical background. The quote also signifies that Monica also can tell that more people grasp the tradition and culture that a quinceanera really comes out to be. Even though more girl that now live in the United States lose touch with.


Personal Connection

I can connect to this because sometimes I don't appreciate or acknowledge what my historical background really means. I just think it's there and never ask what brought our country to be like this? or why we celebrate? I always just go along with it and do what your suppose to do during that celebration. I agree with this quote because I hear from my friends that a quinceanera starts as just a party but mean so much more than what it seems, at the end.

Question

Does Monica think more girls don't know a lot about what you celebrate during a quinceanera?

Quote II

"That we can feel less alone and encouraged in our efforts to put the pieces together into a larger versions of ourselves." - Page 197

Significance

I picked this quote because at first I didn't really get what it ment at first but once reading it over, I liked what it ment. I'm not sure it means this but; I think it means that people from where we come from are still different from yourself as a person but when you learn about all of there people and understand where they come from, we all come together to me one.


Personal Connection

I like this quote because I agree with it. I think that all of us are different even though we come from all over, but at the end we have a lot more in common than what we expected. I've met a lot of people and the first time I meet them I think that we might be good friends but not have a lot of traditional or culture background similarities, but when you get to meet all these people you end up realising that they all are one visions of ourselves.

Question

Do you agree with what the second quote means?

Once Upon a Quinceanera #4

Post #4

Quote I


"In fact, she dismissed quinceaneras as silly, a waste of money." Page 139-140

Significance

I picked this quote because in the book it means a lot, everyone is now thinking differently about the quinceaneras that are being celebrated. In the beginning of the book celebrating a quinceanera was everything a family that had a Hispanic background, but after moving to the United States; everything changes people start looking at this celebration differently. They start to think in more important thing you can do with your money.

Personal Connection

I can connect to this quote because the family in Mexico, would always ask me what I'm going to do for my quinceanera? and I would always tell them that I want to use the money I got to go somewhere. My family doesn't think it would be such a good idea, but I think once you live here in the United States for a long time, it can change the way you looking at things.

Question

Do you sometimes want to change the way your families celebrations are celebrated?

Quote II

"The later soap opera popularized the Q-tradition, making it a celebration that cool, sexy girls, rich or poor might go for. " Page 151

Significance

I think that the significance of this quote is that it's again explaining how the tradtion of a quinceanera is sharing it's culture tradtion with more and more people in America. Not only girls that are hispanic and have this tradtion, but everyone who want to have one.

Personal Connection

I can connect to this because I am one of those girls, who doesn't really know the background tradition on having a quinceanera, but I always end up just wanting one because more and more girls are wanting to have one. I think that after reading this book I learned a lot more about the background tradition that goes on to have a quinceanera.

Question

Did this book change your mind on what you think a quinceanera is?

Once Upon a Quinceanera #2

Post #2

Quote I

“Finally in the summer of 1964 our fourth year in the United States, my mother gave up on punishments and threats and hired a Santana to cleanse our house.” Page - 49

Significance

The significance of this quote is I think, is a different but good way of showing the good things that can change when coming to America. It connects with Silvia having a quinceanera and becoming a woman, which also is another reason why her mother chose to make a difference and stop the punishments, and threats.

Personal Connection

I’m not sure how I can connect to this quote, but basically what I think the quote is saying, is that when coming to America things won’t stay the same, and will change but in many good ways in your life.

Question

Do you think that when you come to America things change? How? Why?

Quote II

“This new U.S world was full of strangers who smelled and looked and acted in ways so different from ours. Ways that said our ways was low-class and shameful and loud.” Page – 51

Significance

I picked this quote because it’s saying how different people are in an immigrant’s point of view. The people they see walking around looked different and acted different than what they are use to seeing where they use to live. Like the quote says, these differences might not always make them feel good about where they come from but low-class and shameful. Overall just different from everyone else.

Personal Connection

I can connect with this quote because sometimes I do feel like where my parents come from is a lot different from things in the U.S, and if I was someone who just came to America I might look at things in a bad way and think that where I come from is low-class or shameful compared to the United States, because things are a lot different.

Question
Do you sometime feel like Olga and how she feels about things in America?

Once Upon a Quinceanera #3

Post #3

Quote I

"She was too consumed with feminism to see past the historical significance of quinceaneras" - Page 45

Significance

This quote spoke to me because this also can relate to the quotes I used in my first blog post about immigrants families losing there culture and becoming more American than what they really are. This quote is saying that sense they lost touch with the reason they really have a quinceanera, and focus and other things that don't really have to do with there tradition.

Personal Connection

I can compare myself to this quote because when I talk to my mom or someone about my family about my future plan for a quinceanera, I know everything that I want it to be but have no clue, what's so ever one why I'm having one. So really the quote is saying that now the population of girls having a quinceanera have forgotten the traditional reason why there having one.

Question

Do you ever feel like your celebrating something that you don't know much about? or why you are?

Quote II


"It's a Hispanic tradition, but these other groups are going to these parties and wanting one as well.” Page – 99

Significance

This quote is saying that now that a lot more families live here in the United States, more and more cultures and traditions connect together. If someone at school is having a quinceanera and your invited but you don't celebrate that in your family, you still go and sometimes end up wanting to make one of your own.

Personal Connection

I can relate to this because, this past year I have been going to many more bar mitzvah and some sweet sixteens; and after going to all of those celebrations it makes me want to have one of my own one day. Even though my family might not believe or celebrates these celebrations. What the quote says to me is that, now that a lot more families from other countries come to America and share there traditions and culture with people here.

Question

Do you think that once people connect with other traditions, and cultures they might want to be apart of it? Why? or why not?

Once Upon a Quinceanera #1

Post # I

Quote I

“Your family is probably not rich; in fact, your mami and papi have been saving up since you were a little girl or they’ve mortgaged the house or lined up forty godparents to help sponsor this celebration, as big as a wedding.” - Invitation

Significance

This quote is saying one of the hardships or the challenges immigrant families went through, especially to make a Quinceanera. I feel like after reading this quote, it gave me a better understanding on how hard it was to pay off a quinceanera. A couple lines above this quote I predicted that this family was going to end up not having a quinceanera, because they didn’t have enough money to pay it off, but instead the quote explained that the daughters parents were doing all they can have money to make this qiunceanera.

Personal Connection

I can relate to this quote because, when I went to Mexico I over herd my mom and grandma talking to a family that needed help paying off a quinceanera. When the family left I asked them what they needed, and why they couldn’t help them? My grandma said that she gets many calls asking for money to help pay off a celebration; and said no because, if she helped all those people she would be broke. I felt as the family in the book was giving up a lot just to have one celebration.


Question

What do you think about the facts COSSMHO is bringing up in the story?

Quote II

"Of course, this began to cause trouble in our family. My sisters and I wanted to hang out with our friends, sleep over at thier houses, attend their parties, wear clothes like thiers-skirts that were too short, tops that were too skimpy, ragedy jeans." Page 23

Significance

This quote really spoke to me because, it's saying that when girls immigrate to the United States or have parents who immigrated here; there a lot more different. They act different and want to do things that people in America are use to doing in a regular basis.

Personal Connection

I can relate to this quote because I would bring up somethings i do with my friends to my grandma when I visit Mexico; and her reaction to the things I'm telling her make no sense to her. She tells me "Beyra, here in Mexico people don't do that, in fact they wouldn't think about things like that, well at least when I was your age, the only concern that went through our heads was to make something of our lives and never wast time." I didn't think the things I told her was a waste of time, but apparently to her it was. Which shows me even though I don't see it, people do actually change when coming to America, and its hard to stay in touch with there own culture.

Question

Do you think it's hard to keep in touch with your culture when your surrounded by people who live an American life style?