Three local teenage girls received a birthday celebration they said they will never forget March 19 — a traditional Quinceañera hosted by Ball State University's Latino Student Union.
A Quinceañera is a coming-of-age party in the Latino culture for girls when they turn 15 years old. The tradition of throwing these parties dates back centuries, according to Quinceanera.com.
Similar to a "Sweet 16" in American culture, a Quinceañera is an important step in a girl's life.
The event was the first of its kind for Muncie, and LSU president and junior telecommunications major Carlos Mata said he hopes they can begin providing a Quinceañera celebration annually for local girls who cannot afford to host their own.
"Usually Quinceañeras run from $5,000 to $10,000. The food, the dress, the mass — it's almost a year-long process to plan for just one day. And many families don't have the means to do so," Mata said. "This is a way for us to not only give that girl and her family the relief that they don't have to do this [alone], but for them to realize that there is a sense of unity and inclusion here in Muncie."
Creating unity and inclusion between different cultures — not only on Ball State's campus, but in the entire Muncie community — is something Mata and members of LSU strive to do. Both he and Muncie Mayor Dennis Tyler said they think this Quinceañera will help Muncie grow as a city.
"I do think Muncie is growing daily in a very positive way. We're growing in the right way," Tyler said. "But I do think that there was a disconnect [between cultures]. Many times, different cultures will stay in their comfort zones, within themselves. But now Muncie's welcoming [Latinos]. I think they're becoming more comfortable here. And it's good. It's long overdue."
Tyler supported the party in numerous ways, including commemorating it by proclaiming March 19, 2016, as Quinceañera Day in the city of Muncie.
"We thought that something that might really be heartfelt with everybody here was if we did a proclamation," Tyler said. "I don't think that there's ever been any type of recognition for this culture in our community, and I think the timing is perfect for us to do that."
Before the party began, the three girls all said they felt grateful for the party LSU had planned for them.
Alicia Vazquez, a 14-year-old Yorktown Middle School student, will turn 15 in August. She was born in Muncie, but her parents and her heritage came from Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico. Her father said without LSU, she could not have had the celebration she had on March 19.
"I just feel really grateful. It's really cool to be able to have something like this, and for free," Alicia said. "I feel really excited and nervous at the same time."
Her father, Joaquin Vazquez, said he was proud of his daughter and said her Quinceañera is just as important to him and his wife as it is to Alicia.
"Well, I'm just so thankful to everybody. She's going to be talking about it forever. … It's gonna be unforgettable," Joaquin said. "And in my family's story, she's the first one to get [a Quinceañera]. Alicia's gonna know she's special."
Cristal and Noemy Pacheco are sisters. They live in Anderson, Ind., and attend Anderson Preparatory Academy.
Cristal, 14, will turn 15 in October. She said she felt thankful, happy and nervous at the same time during their Quinceañera. While she said she was excited to meet Mayor Dennis Tyler, she said the best part of the evening was being able to share it with her close friends.
Noemy turned 15 last June. She said she felt happy to be at her Quinceañera, but also nervous and worried that something might go wrong during the night. She and her sister had found out LSU was throwing their birthday celebration just two weeks prior to the event.
Traditional Quinceañeras contain several ceremonial events that take a lot of work and planning. Victoria Voelkel, a sophomore hospitality and food management major and member of LSU, had her own 15th birthday celebration with her family in Ecuador.
"Mine wasn't very traditional, … but this will be a pretty traditional [Quinceañera]," Voelkel said. "There will be Las Zapatillas, [the changing of the shoes] from the flats to the heels. This signifies going from a girl to a woman. Then there's the last dance with a doll, la muñeca. It's the last time you have that youthfulness."
The girls also had a court of friends with them — 15, including themselves — one for each year of their lives.
"It's a very ceremonious event. It's not just 'Congratulations, we made it.' It's just something we take very seriously, hold near and dear to our heart," Voelkel said.
The idea to throw this important party for local Latina girls came from both LSU President Mata and Maria Williams-Hawkins, a telecommunications professor at Ball State.
Though not Hispanic herself, different cultures are important to Williams-Hawkins.
"I just didn't feel that the Hispanic community had been reached out to enough," she said. "And our time on earth is not always disclosed to us in advance. So for me it was, 'I want to do this now.'"
Williams-Hawkins not only worked closely with LSU to help plan the event, but even helped fund it. She said making sure that different cultures in Muncie feel appreciated and recognized is something that's important to her. She also said she's hopeful Muncie will change for the better because of this Quinceañera.
"We learned more about this community, and in turn this community has given us many, many smiles of satisfaction for what we've done," she said. "Before, members of the Hispanic community have all had the same comments: 'We never thought anybody cared.' Now I think they're really starting to feel like, 'Maybe Ball State has an interest in us. Maybe Muncie has an interest in us.'"
Mata said from the beginning, this event was about not only helping families in need, but helping bring everyone together. Many members of LSU wanted to join the Quinceañera committee because it was something they thought Muncie needed to have.
"What we realized was the Latino community, the Muncie community, the Ball State community and the Latino Student Union haven't really worked together on one thing to help one another," Mata said. "And it's something we've always wanted to do."
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