The fiesta de quince años (also fiesta de quinceañera, quince años and quince) is a celebration of a girl 's 15th birthday. It has its cultural roots in Latin America but is widely celebrated today throughout the Americas. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a quinceañera (Spanish pronunciation: [kinseaˈɲeɾa]; feminine form of "15-year-old"). In Spanish, and in Latin American countries, the term quinceañera is reserved solely for the girl. In English, primarily in the United States, the term is used to refer to the celebrations associated with the birthday.
This birthday is celebrated differently from any other as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. 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.
In the past, parallel customs could be found in the Iberian Peninsula and France. Today, the custom remains strongest in Mexico, its likely country of introduction. However, it is widely celebrated in Spanish America.
