In Brazil, a Portuguese-speaking country, a similar celebration is called festa de debutantes, baile de debutantes or festa de quinze anos. Nowadays, the quinceañera is also celebrated by many Latino Americans in the United States, each according to their traditions. The celebrations themselves vary significantly in different countries for example, the festivities in some have taken on more religious overtones than in others. The grandest parties are comparable to British and US debutante balls. However, it is widely celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas.

Today, the custom remains strongest in Mexico, its likely country of introduction during the viceregal or Mexican imperial periods. In the past, parallel customs could be found in Europe. Historically, in the years prior to their 15th birthdays, girls were taught cooking, weaving, and about childbearing by the elder women in their communities in preparation for their future roles as wives and during the celebration the girl's father would present her to potential suitors. This birthday is celebrated differently from any other as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. In Spanish, and in Hispanic America, the term quinceañera is reserved solely for the honoree in English, primarily in the United States, the term is used to refer to the celebrations and honors surrounding the occasion. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a quinceañera ( Spanish pronunciation: feminine form of '15-year-old'). It has pre-Columbian roots in Mexico (Aztecs) and is widely celebrated by girls throughout Hispanic America. Mexican American girls at a quinceañera celebration in Santa Fe, New MexicoĪ quinceañera (also fiesta de quinceañera, quince años, fiesta de quince años and quinces) is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday.

Quinceanera party planner