Pod Insights Stuff You Should Know Selects: What's a quinceañera anyway? About this episode A quinceañera is the celebration of a girl of Hispanic heritage becoming a young woman on her 15th birthday. It involves family, friends, music and a lot of great food. Join Josh and Chuck in this classic episode as they don their favorite pink dresses and go over this wonderful tradition.
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1:07 Speaker 02 Hi folks. Happy Saturday. I hope you're enjoying your weekend. I hope you're with your friends, your family, your loved one. If you don't like anybody at all, I hope you're by yourself and you're having a good time. I just hope you're well in general. This episode is from May 15th, 2018. And it's called, What's a Quintinera Anyway? I didn't know until we did this episode, so listen and find out if you don't know.
1:36 Speaker 00 Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a production of iHeart Radio.
1:46 Josh Clark? Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark and there's Charles W. Cho Bryant and there's Jerry. And this is a very special day for us.
1:54 Speaker 02 It's a very special day for Jerry because she's celebrating her very special day because today Jerry turns sweet 15.
2:03 Josh Clark? Right. Well, technically it's her triple Quintinera.
2:07 Speaker 02 No, Jerry started producing the show when she was five.
2:10 Josh Clark? Oh, yeah.
2:12 Speaker 02 She was the wonderkin.
2:13 Josh Clark? She was a child prodigy. Threw a lot of temper tantrums.
2:17 Speaker 02 Yeah, but we got through that time.
2:19 Josh Clark? We did, the terrible fives.
2:21 Speaker 02 And now she's just a pretty little lady in her pink, lacy, satiny dress.
2:26 Josh Clark? Yeah, that dresses a lot even for a quinceañera dress, Jerry.
2:29 Speaker 02 Agreed.
2:30 Josh Clark? Can I go ahead and say I don't do the R roll very well, so I'm just gonna say quinceañera.
2:38 Speaker 02 Okay, instead of quinceañera?
2:41 Josh Clark? Yeah.
2:41 Speaker 02 That wasn't very good either.
2:42 Josh Clark? Right.
2:42 Speaker 02 I used to do a good R roll because of German, but I feel like I've lost it a bit.
2:47 Josh Clark? And I guess it's actually an N roll. Quinceañera.
2:51 Speaker 02 Oh, that was good.
2:53 Josh Clark? Right, yeah, but if I try to keep it up, it's, I think it's gonna fatigue everybody pretty quick, so quinceañera.
2:59 Speaker 02 Well, the last thing we want to be are two jackass white dudes.
3:02 Josh Clark? Well, that's what we're doing.
3:03 Speaker 02 Laying it on too thick.
3:05 Josh Clark? Two forty-something white dudes are about to talk about quinceañeras, like we know what we're talking about.
3:11 Speaker 02 Well, we did the research and I think it's, I think it's good to cover stuff like this.
3:15 Josh Clark? I do too. I had very little understanding about this, just from what I've seen on like MTV or whatever, you know?
3:23 Speaker 02 Did they have a show?
3:25 Josh Clark? They have one called like My Sweet Sixteen or whatever that I might be conflating with, but I swear I've seen quince, like I knew some of this stuff somewhere. I don't know where though. Somewhere, just in the, just being plugged into culture, I knew it, I guess.
3:40 Speaker 02 Yeah, well, I lived in Los Angeles, as you know, and they have obviously quite a Latin population. And I looked up Hispanic and Latino. I wanted to get it all right.
3:52 Josh Clark? Good, good. Let's hear what you got.
3:53 Speaker 02 Well, it says that they can generally be used interchangeably these days, but I think Latino can, like, I think Hispanic refers to whether or not you actually have Spanish-speaking roots.
4:06 Josh Clark? Oh, is that right?
4:06 Speaker 02 But Latino can be like Brazil and places in South America as well, if I'm not mistaken.
4:13 Josh Clark? I heard once that Ronald Reagan was the person who coined the term Hispanic, or at least popularized it.
4:19 Speaker 02 Really?
4:20 Josh Clark? Yeah.
4:21 Speaker 02 Well, it was that tattoo across his upper back. Hispanic for life.
4:25 Josh Clark? For life, yep, with the number four.
4:28 Speaker 02 But at any rate, you know, lived in LA and there's, you know, a large Mexican population, so I would see quinceañeras. Going on all the time when you're just driving around on a weekend.
4:40 Josh Clark? That's awesome.
4:40 Speaker 02 See stuff and I was like, wait a minute, it's not prom. It's summer, like what's going on?
4:45 Josh Clark? It's like prom times 10.
4:47 Speaker 02 And then some, somebody hit me in the head and they're like, you dummy. You dumb white guy from the south. It's a quinceañeras.
4:55 Josh Clark? Right.
4:56 Speaker 02 And so I was like, well, you know what? One day I'm gonna do a podcast about that.
4:58 Josh Clark? And they said, what is a podcast?
5:00 Speaker 02 To make up for all this.
5:01 Josh Clark? He said, just watch.
5:02 Speaker 02 That's right.
5:03 Josh Clark? So one thing I saw was with Latino, you know, like with Latino or Latina, there's that ingrained masculine. But something I, I saw pop up in a couple of sites was they would replace the O or the A with an X. Just to make it
5:21 Speaker 02 In what word?
5:22 Josh Clark? Gender neutral, like Latinx.
5:24 Speaker 02 Oh.
5:25 Josh Clark? Yeah, I don't know how you pronounce it. I didn't get that far, but I, I saw it in print in a couple of different sites. To where they were trying to remove the gender from, you know, Latino or Latina and just make it general, gender neutral. Because there's, there's a, I haven't seen it, but there's an HBO documentary about quinceañeras and one of them is for a trans girl.
5:48 Speaker 02 Okay, would it be pronounced Latinx?
5:52 Josh Clark? Maybe.
5:54 Josh Clark? I mean,
5:54 Speaker 02 I have to see it written down.
5:56 Josh Clark? How is the X in like Oaxaca? Isn't it like Hua, Hua? So maybe Latihua?
6:03 Speaker 02 I have no idea.
6:04 Josh Clark? That's what I'm going with.
6:05 Speaker 02 Here we go. I didn't want to be too dumb dums and we're so far down dumb dumb lane.
6:10 Josh Clark? It's not even funny.
6:11 Speaker 02 No.
6:12 Josh Clark? So let's try to get this back on the rail, shall we? I think what we just did was great because we explored some questions we had. But now we can talk about everything we know about quinceañeras.
6:23 Speaker 02 Right, which is, we've been dancing around this thing. This is the, the 15th birthday celebration for young ladies, young women in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, and the United States. Kind of all over the world. This is, this can take place.
6:45 Josh Clark? Yeah.
6:47 Josh Clark? And it seems to be so, it's a, it's actually a very traditional thing to where.
6:56 Josh Clark? Catholic, like the Catholic-ness of the girl. And her even pre-Catholic origins. Bind together with what I guess you would call like is a universal coming of age celebration.
7:15 Speaker 02 Yeah.
7:16 Josh Clark? That also focuses on the individuality and tastes of the girl. You put all those things together, you have a quinceañera, which is a 15th birthday party. Which is a coming out party for a girl as she transitions from girlhood into womanhood. It happens on this day and they throw a huge celebration. And there's a lot of really cool traditions that you're gonna find at like every quinceañera. That are, that have some, a neat origin story to them, or a neat symbolism to them.
7:48 Speaker 02 And also some great music, some delicious food. And family coming together for an important day. It's really great.
7:57 Josh Clark? Not just family, the whole community is meant to, you know, like extended family, people in the community that have like had an impact on the girl's life. Like a teacher, people chip in for the expense of this. It's like a real communal thing.
8:10 Speaker 02 Should we go back in time?
8:12 Josh Clark? Okay, let's.
8:14 Speaker 02 Or did you want to go to the future?
8:16 Josh Clark? No, no, we'll go back in time.
8:17 Speaker 02 All right. So the origins of this, they date back all the way to the Aztec Indians. Obviously in the 1400s and 1500s, they were performing these festivals. Because girls back then were marriage-ready at the age of 15. That's kind of what it symbolized.
8:36 Josh Clark? Right. And like it wasn't just the Aztecs, like around the world and cultures around the world. Like you, you would find some sort of coming of age or rites of passage into womanhood. And yeah, when you came out the other end, it was like you were on the market then, from that point on.
8:54 Speaker 02 That's right. And they had ceremonies, they had speeches, talking about how important it is to become a wise, upstanding member of society as a young woman. Then the Spanish come along, of course. They invade what we now call Mexico over through the Aztecs. And that brought in a European influence to this whole experience. And this is where things got a little more.
9:19 Speaker 02 A little more like debutante.
9:22 Josh Clark? Yeah, it's actually, I looked into this a little further Chuck, and they, they are, they can't say for certain where quinceañeras came from. But they think the Aztecs, but their source comes from a single nun working in Mexico, who wrote an account that had been given to a priest 40 years earlier.
9:43 Speaker 02 Wow.
9:43 Josh Clark? From another priest who had supposedly in the 1520s, interviewed some Aztec high priests about their culture. So that's where the whole idea that there was a rite of passage at age 15 comes from, kind of shaky. And then other people say, well, no, this is obviously a Spanish colonial influence, like being presented at court. But the, the idea that it's a rite of passage into womanhood is so universal that it probably is a combination of the two of them. No one can just say for certain, though, what the origin is specifically.
10:16 Speaker 02 Yeah, and apparently until the 1960s, it was really kind of an upper class thing. But then in the 1960s, as Latinos immigrated to the United States, and they became more part of American fabric, they really kind of, really kind of spread throughout the US and Latin America, as becoming across all socioeconomic classes. And we'll get to this a little more later, but wonderfully, like you said, in poorer communities, you see entire communities chipping in some money many times. Or the, the godmothers and godfathers, the padrinos and madrinas. You like that?
10:57 Josh Clark? Yeah, that's good.
10:58 Speaker 02 To help pay for this stuff. I saw this photographer did a really great photo series of quinceañera celebrations in poorer neighborhoods in Mexico, and photographed these really beautiful photographs of these, of these young women in their dresses, sort of in the middle of a very depressed neighborhood.
11:19 Speaker 02 And just showing how important it was that they still had this celebration, even though they, it was, it was a burden financially on their families.
11:30 Josh Clark? Right. Yeah, I think Mexico City got together in 2007 and some of the businesses, some of the, some nonprofit groups held like a, a big mass quinceañera. And now they do it every year for girls who, who wouldn't otherwise be able to have one.
11:47 Speaker 02 Yeah, I also read a New York Times article where there's a lot of bias like when it comes to things like this and bar and bat mitzvahs and debutante balls where it's very easy for someone to say, like, you know, if, if you're poor living in Mexico City, why are you wasting, and that's in air quotes, your money on this celebration when your family doesn't have much money? And they say, you know, you never hear this kind of criticism for bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs or debutantes, regardless of socioeconomic status. So it's just a very important, important part of their culture that should be, shouldn't be looked down upon just because they may not have the kind of money to throw a big
12:31 Speaker 02 one. You know what I'm saying?
12:35 Josh Clark? Yeah, yeah. And I'm, yeah, I'm sure. One of the things though, you just kind of hit on the head is that it's a, it's a, it's a part of Latinx culture, which is one reason why it's become so big in America. It's a way of people of Latino heritage to say, you know, this is my heritage too. And this is how I'm going to come of age in America. But because it's also in America, and these are American born girls of Latina heritage, they, they have come over time to kind of meld together with what Americans look at and say, that's just one enormous sweet 16 party.
13:15 Speaker 02 Right.
13:16 Josh Clark? But there's, there's some details in there that you'll find at a quinceañera that you won't at a sweet 16 party. And we'll talk about those right after this.
13:24 Speaker 02 Well done.
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17:10 Josh Clark? All right, Charles. So we are going to start the day. It's a frantic day. It's a hectic day. From everything I understand, from what I've read, this is a, and actually, like, a cool day for a girl, but also very stressful, right?
17:27 Speaker 02 It's like a wedding or a prom or anything where there's a lot of pressure on this one, you know, six hour experience.
17:35 Josh Clark? But think about this, with a wedding, you've got your SO to plan the wedding with. With prom, you've got a handful of other girls to plan, you know, what you're doing with prom. And plus prom's already being planned for you by your school or whatever.
17:50 Speaker 02 Sure.
17:50 Josh Clark? This is like your day and part of your responsibility is the quinceañera, which by the way, quinceañera literally translates to the girl who is 15.
18:00 Speaker 02 Yeah.
18:02 Josh Clark? So this is technically your fiesta de quinceañera or something like that.
18:06 Speaker 02 Right.
18:07 Josh Clark? Part of your responsibility as quinceañera is to show that you can take part in this planning. On the one hand, it's to allow it to reflect your personality and your taste. So you're the one who needs to choose all this stuff. But it also shows that you can be a grown up too and undertake months of planning leading up to this thing and basically pull it off.
18:27 Speaker 02 Correct.
18:28 Josh Clark? All right, okay, so the whole thing starts with a trip to church, which is not what you're gonna find. Right, which is not what you're gonna find at a normal American, like say, sweet 16 party.
18:40 Speaker 02 No, and it depends on the church where you're gonna have. And you know, sometimes the celebration also occurs at the church. Sometimes that occurs at a different spot, kind of like a wedding. You know, sometimes you'll have the reception somewhere else.
18:54 Josh Clark? Right, that's not how it started, which we'll, we'll talk about that in a minute, but go ahead.
18:58 Speaker 02 But it depends on the church where you're a member or where you're having this initial ceremony. But the girl before this all happens for weeks ahead of time may actually be required to attend classes in advance of this, so they're prepared and they know to what to expect.
19:15 Josh Clark? Right, they, well, yeah, that's about it as far as the weeks ahead part. As far as the church.
19:22 Speaker 02 And all the planning, yeah, of course.
19:23 Josh Clark? Right, so on the day they arrive at the church and you were saying like, you know, now it's kind of evolved to where you have like, like, like a wedding. You have the ceremony of the church and then the event elsewhere.
19:34 Speaker 02 Well, you can.
19:35 Josh Clark? Right, and that's becoming more and more the way. But one of the reasons that is becoming the way is because in 1990 in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Archdiocese issued like a set of guidelines that basically put the kibosh on this idea of the quinceañera as a big lavish affair. And it really dampened this burgeoning, I guess, industry or tradition or whatever. It put a damper on it for a little while because families didn't want to go against the church, so they kind of toned down the quinceañeras. But the reason the church is doing this is because there were too many quinceañeras, not enough Spanish-speaking priests.
20:17 Josh Clark? And then also, the Catholic Church has always had an awkward position in this, in this tradition. It's not a Catholic tradition. It's a cultural tradition by a group of people who are predominantly Catholic and involve the church as part of this tradition. But this, this tradition, if anything, is a syncretized tradition. Remember when we were in Guatemala? The, the melding of Catholic beliefs and like pagan, pre-colonial beliefs, indigenous beliefs is syncretism. This is an example of that. There's like Aztec rituals supposedly mixed with this. The whole thing starts at a Catholic church with a mass.
21:00 Josh Clark? So the church has kind of had a alternately hands-on and hands-off view of this whole thing. And in 1990, they almost put a, a, a complete damper on it. But since then, it's just kind of said, okay, we'll just start off at the church and we'll have the, the party afterward elsewhere.
21:18 Speaker 02 Yeah, and I've also seen that a lot of churches now are straying away from these because they feel like there's just a lot of disrespectful behavior. Like, you know, people partying on the pews and taking pictures with their phone and texting and like, they kind of forget that they're in a church.
21:37 Josh Clark? Right, which, I mean, if you step back and think about it, having a girl's 15-year birthday party in an actual church?
21:44 Speaker 02 Yeah.
21:45 Josh Clark? That's a terrible idea to begin with.
21:47 Speaker 02 It's probably a bad idea.
21:48 Josh Clark? So it makes sense to, to do this kind of solemn ceremony at the church and then party elsewhere, which I think is pretty much par for the course these days.
21:57 Speaker 02 All right, so before the mass takes place, This young woman has, and Kristen Conger, remember Kristen?
22:07 Josh Clark? Of course. What's the name of their podcast?
22:09 Speaker 02 Unladylike.
22:10 Josh Clark? Unladylike, that's right.
22:11 Speaker 02 Yeah, Kristen Caroline, formerly of Stuff Mom Never Told You, now with Unladylike. She wrote this article and she said that custom calls for 14 damas, or maiden attendants, to represent the 14 years of her life up until that point. I saw elsewhere, seven-
22:29 Josh Clark? That's what I saw too.
22:30 Speaker 02 -to be paired with seven young men. You want to pronounce that? Chambelons?
22:36 Josh Clark? Yeah, that's, that's how I took it. Chambelons?
22:39 Speaker 02 But-
22:39 Josh Clark? Chambelons.
22:40 Speaker 02 I read in another place, I was like, oh, wait a minute, which is it? And apparently it can be seven to 15. So-
22:47 Josh Clark? Yeah.
22:47 Speaker 02 Depending on, I guess, how many really close friends you have, kind of like picking out your, your bridesmaids and groomsmen.
22:54 Josh Clark? Yeah, and I saw plenty of videos of quinceañeras where like there were three girls-
23:01 Speaker 02 Yeah, there's some leeway.
23:02 Josh Clark? Yeah, but I think under strict tradition of the quinceañera, you would have 14 girls and 15 dudes. You got 14 damas, 15 chambelanes, and then one- I got it. And then one chambelane day on air, which I totally messed up, but it's, it's basically the, the escort of honor, who is the, the quinceañera's date.
23:31 Speaker 02 That's right. And again, I'm sure that there's some leeway. The quinceañera cops aren't going to come by because you don't have enough friends helping you. They have larger fish to fry on quinceañera day.
23:43 Josh Clark? Right. Although the, whoever's helping you plan this, it would probably love it if you had 14 guys and 14 girls, because they all have to be outfitted.
23:52 Speaker 02 Oh, yeah.
23:53 Josh Clark? In exactly what you want them to wear, because it's your party.
23:57 Speaker 02 That's right. And I don't think we mentioned, but the dress is a very big part of the celebration. Traditionally, it's either pink or white, very satiny. I mean, it looks kind of like a prom dress, a big frilly
24:10 Speaker 02 floor-length gown.
24:11 Josh Clark? But then it also is eight feet wide.
24:14 Speaker 02 Yeah, exactly.
24:15 Josh Clark? At the waist, like out. It's extraordinary. It's like a princess dress.
24:19 Speaker 02 Yeah.
24:20 Josh Clark? Like, I want a quinceañera.
24:22 Speaker 02 Oh, we can throw you one, buddy.
24:24 Josh Clark? Okay.
24:25 Speaker 02 You want to do that?
24:26 Josh Clark? Sure.
24:26 Speaker 02 You want to get all pretty for the camera?
24:27 Josh Clark? I definitely would. To find a nice dress.
24:31 Speaker 02 All right. So the first stop, though, like you said, is the church. And this is where a lot of the ceremony takes place. They receive a blessing from a priest. The young woman commits herself to her protecting her virginity and her spiritual devotion. And then they leave a bouquet of flowers near the Virgin Mary statue. And then traditionally, they would give away a porcelain doll, one of their childhood dolls. Or, again, tradition varies these days. It might be a teddy bear or something else that just meant something to the girl.
25:08 Josh Clark? One thing I saw was a quinceanera Barbie.
25:10 Speaker 02 Oh, yeah?
25:11 Josh Clark? Mm hmm.
25:11 Speaker 02 All right. Well, they'll pass that along to a younger sister or another relative, another female relative to basically say like, again, symbolic of I'm entering young adulthood and I'm passing on this silly Barbie to you.
25:25 Josh Clark? What's the name of that, the Ultima Moneca?
25:29 Speaker 02 Oh, I don't know. I didn't see that.
25:30 Josh Clark? Ultima Moneca means the last doll.
25:33 Speaker 02 Okay.
25:33 Josh Clark? And it shows that she's leaving girlhood behind.
25:37 Speaker 02 Right.
25:38 Josh Clark? And you can guess which one of those, the ceramic doll or the old toy or the brand new Barbie the younger female relative wants.
25:47 Speaker 02 These days? Sure.
25:48 Josh Clark? Yeah. Yeah.
25:49 Speaker 02 Yeah.
25:49 Josh Clark? So, um, so that may or may not happen at the church. The thing that seems to be what definitely happens at the church is the girl is presented with a rosary, a prayer book or a Bible, and leaves flowers at the altar and/or the statue of the Virgin Mary and then receives a blessing, right?
26:08 Speaker 02 That's right.
26:09 Josh Clark? So let's say that all that happened at the church and the girl has been blessed. Sometimes it's part of a regular mass, like she may stand up and come up to the altar and get a special blessing. If, if, if her parents are pulling all the right strings, maybe she can get her own mass for it. But she may also be sharing that mass with other quinceañeras. There's a bunch of different ways to do it. But once the mass is done, once she's said like, I am committing myself to the Catholic Church and I'm a very spiritual girl and, and thanks for the blessing, I'm out E5,000. She's heading off to the party.
26:44 Speaker 02 That's right. Get that, just like a good wedding, get that part over with quickly so you can get your party on.
26:52 Josh Clark? Right. So while she's getting into the limo, we'll take another break, okay?
26:56 Speaker 02 All right, look at her trying to stuff that dress in that.
27:15 Josh Clark? Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. That's Toyota affordability, and it all starts with a great deal on a truck from your local Toyota dealer.
27:25 Speaker 02 That's right. Make a smart buy on the off-road Ready Tacoma or Half-Ton Tundra, two of Toyota's most capable and longest-lasting trucks, built with the strength for the tough jobs, the tech to power your next big adventure, and the rugged style for everything in between.
27:38 Josh Clark? Or discover Toyota's off-road lineup, including the iconic 4Runner and Land Cruiser, designed to go beyond the everyday. And with Toyota's proven reputation for quality and reliability, plus hybrid power on many models, you can get more for every mile and drive for less along the way.
27:54 Speaker 02 That's right. And long after you leave the lot, your Toyota keeps delivering with great resale value. So you can trade in for more when you're ready for your next Toyota. From a great deal today to a great value tomorrow, a Toyota is right for you. Shop toyota.com for deals and details, or stop by your local Toyota dealer today. Toyota, let's go places.
28:16 Speaker 02 Hey, everybody. I want to talk to you right now about Black Friday deals at Lowe's because you can get Black Friday done at Lowe's before Black Friday. Right now, you can get up to three free select power tools with the purchase of a select DeWalt, Craftsman, or Cobalt battery kit. And get this, you can get your choice of a Holiday Living Greensboro pre-lit artificial Christmas tree, flocked or classic, for just $99. Black Friday deals are on now at Lowe's, in-store and online. Valid through November 18th while supplies last. Free tools vary based on battery kit purchased and location.
28:52 Speaker 02 Here's a question for all you curious people. What's one thing you wish there was an app for? With Base44, you can build it yourself. It might be something simple, like a tool for a task your team does every week. You want the steps, useful links, and everyone's progress in one place.
29:06 Josh Clark? Well, with Base44, describe that in your own words. You don't need to know coding or programming. Then you just keep editing and refining it until it works exactly the way you want. Your build comes headache-free with built-in login, data storage, backend, and hosting. So what's the app you wish existed?
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30:52 Josh Clark? Okay Chuck, so she has gotten in the limo, she's driven off, and now they're going to the venue, which is basically anywhere that you would also hold like a wedding reception. You could hold a quinceañera party.
31:04 Speaker 02 Yeah, I mean, it could be, it really depends on the budget of the family involved. They could rent out a, a large hall, or they could, it could be in the backyard of their own home, or at a friend's house.
31:16 Josh Clark? Yeah, and again, this is not just on the parents' shoulders. It's very customary and very traditional for the girl to approach family members,
31:25 Speaker 02 Yeah.
31:26 Josh Clark? Members of the business community, just anybody she can think of to say, hey, costs are really adding up, and can you, you know, chip in a little bit? And like, the, the quinceañera will be sponsored by multiple people besides just her parents.
31:43 Speaker 02 Yeah, and I did, I also read in that article on that really great photo spread the guy did, he interviewed the family members, and one of the families, he said, how long have you, you know, they didn't have much money, and he said, how long have you been saving for this? And they said, for 15 years.
31:57 Josh Clark? Oh, man.
31:58 Speaker 02 Like, they, they started socking away money every year because they knew this was coming.
32:02 Josh Clark? That is so great.
32:03 Speaker 02 And it was important. It was a very sweet story.
32:04 Josh Clark? Yeah, I think the aspect that, you know, the, the community chips in, and, and also comes to like witness this girl's transition to adulthood. I just really appreciate that. I think it's really cool that that's part of it, you know?
32:19 Speaker 02 Agreed.
32:20 Josh Clark? Rather than it's just, the parents are footing the bill for everything. I just think that's cool.
32:25 Speaker 02 Yeah, well, and it's a culture where family and community is such a important revered thing. And it's something I, that I'm envious of, you know?
32:34 Josh Clark? Yeah, for sure. So, when the, when the girl gets there, the first thing that's gonna happen is, the music's gonna be starting, and her court's going to come in and get introduced. Those are the damas and the chambalanes. Why is that not sounding right?
32:52 Speaker 02 Cause it sounds French.
32:55 Josh Clark? Right, okay, so that's, but am I, am I pronouncing it French?
32:58 Speaker 02 I don't know. That's what I'm saying. It, uh, I'm not sure. I don't know the origins of that word.
33:03 Josh Clark? Okay, so, um, those two, her court, they're gonna come in one by one and get announced, virtually just like a wedding, when the bride and groom show up. The, the groomsmades, no, the bride-
33:16 Speaker 02 Groomsmaids?
33:17 Josh Clark? The groomsmen and then the bridesmaids.
33:21 Speaker 02 Yes.
33:22 Josh Clark? Come on, man.
33:24 Speaker 02 Hang it in there.
33:25 Josh Clark? They're, they get introduced, you know, one by one as they're coming in. And then finally, the, um, the chambelan, the honorary escort is introduced. And then you finally have the quinteira come in and the music changes and she's like, you're like raising the roof, you know, and the, the party's just, everyone erupts into just craziness from that moment on.
33:47 Speaker 02 Yeah, and again, it could be a DJ, it could be a mariachi band, it could be a rock band.
33:53 Josh Clark? It could be a DJ playing mariachi music.
33:56 Speaker 02 It could be, it could be, uh, like with my wedding, I had a, an iPod loaded up with my mix and just hit play.
34:04 Josh Clark? Nice. So, this is probably a DJ with a light system and a dance floor. Every, all the videos I saw are very much like that.
34:14 Speaker 02 Yeah.
34:15 Josh Clark? So the, the court's been introduced. And then, one of the first things that happens is the girl is presented with a crown.
34:24 Speaker 02 Mm-hmm, tiara.
34:25 Josh Clark? She's presented with a scepter.
34:27 Speaker 02 So, for the killing?
34:30 Josh Clark? Right, for the bashing.
34:31 Speaker 02 Yeah, that comes later.
34:32 Josh Clark? And then, right, the ritual, the ritual killing of the chipmunk. Um, and she's seated probably on a throne of some sort, or a central chair, maybe one of those like wicker, remember the wicker like seventies chair?
34:46 Speaker 02 Oh, yeah.
34:46 Josh Clark? That like flared out and up?
34:48 Speaker 02 Yeah.
34:48 Josh Clark? That looked kinda like a-
34:49 Speaker 02 Eyes of a case.
34:50 Josh Clark? Yeah, maybe she's sitting on one of those. But she's, she's basically the center of attention right then. And something kinda cool happens. The shoe she was wearing, that she came in with, flat-soled sandals, or, um, slippers, or something like that. Her dad comes over and takes those off. And then he puts on high heels.
35:10 Speaker 02 Yeah.
35:10 Josh Clark? Snaps his fingers, twirls and goes, "She's a woman."
35:15 Speaker 02 Yes, and I bet you anything this, uh, this young lady has practiced walking in those before.
35:21 Josh Clark? Right.
35:21 Speaker 02 I don't think she would want her first experience in high heels to be in that dress on the big day.
35:28 Speaker 02 This is just logical Chuck talking.
35:29 Josh Clark? Although it would be fun to watch.
35:32 Speaker 02 Oh, no, come on.
35:33 Josh Clark? You don't think it would be?
35:35 Speaker 02 No one wants to see a, what do they, Kristen said they call her, uh, Keens girls sometimes?
35:40 Josh Clark? Yeah.
35:40 Speaker 02 No one wants to see a Keens girl fall over.
35:43 Josh Clark? That, that's true.
35:44 Speaker 02 Except you.
35:46 Speaker 02 But you got laughed at while you did the backstroke, so I get it.
35:49 Josh Clark? Yeah, mocked.
35:51 Speaker 02 Uh, they may also get gifts, but not always. A lot of times they're symbolic gifts. A lot of times other people will bring gifts, but from the parents. The, uh, the festival and ceremony itself is the gift. But sometimes if the parents have some dough and a big budget, they may get what's called, uh, regalo sorpresa, which is a surprise gift. Um, on top of everything else. And this of course is including, um, like you mentioned, the prayer book and the rosary and the Bible and stuff like that.
36:24 Josh Clark? Right. And then those are probably given to her at the church before. I'm thinking that, uh, depending on the position of her parents socioeconomically, the girl's probably getting other, other presents too.
36:37 Speaker 02 Yeah.
36:40 Josh Clark? But yes, supposedly just the quinceañera party is like, this is plenty, don't you think?
36:46 Speaker 02 Yeah, but I think the gifts too also are, always represent that, uh, transition into adulthood. So she's not getting the dolls anymore. She gets maybe some jewelry or earrings and stuff like that.
36:59 Josh Clark? Right.
37:00 Speaker 02 Stuff to deliver her into womanhood.
37:01 Josh Clark? And then guests are also given gifts as well.
37:04 Speaker 02 Sure, party favors.
37:06 Josh Clark? The way that the whole thing's set up, even though the community like, um, might have people that chip in or family members or whatever, the, the parents are saying like, come, help celebrate our, our daughter's transition into womanhood, right? So the, the party is meant as like a gift for the guests.
37:23 Speaker 02 Right.
37:23 Josh Clark? And, and so the, the thing is kind of meant to be like, come and get your eat on and your drink on and just have a lot of fun. The, the thing is, is Part of that welcomeness and that inclusiveness and that, you know, please come and be a part of this, that backfired really hard for this one couple. Have you heard about Ruby Abara Garcia?
37:47 Speaker 02 No.
37:48 Josh Clark? Oh, my. So Ruby Abara Garcia turned 15 on December 26th, 2016.
37:56 Speaker 02 Okay.
37:56 Josh Clark? Okay, just like a year or so ago. And she is from La Jolla, which is in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. And it's a little tiny town, 200. And her parents decided to get with the times and make like a YouTube invitation, a video invitation, to come to Ruby's quinceañera. But they posted it on YouTube and they didn't put any privacy settings on. And it went viral. And 20,000 people from around the world showed up to Ruby's quinceañera party in this little town of 200.
38:32 Speaker 02 That's kind of great, though, right?
38:34 Josh Clark? It was great on the one hand, but if you look at the photos from it, she was very much overwhelmed the entire time.
38:41 Speaker 02 Yeah, that's true.
38:41 Josh Clark? Was not expecting, apparently, like, on Facebook, like, over a million people said they were coming, but even still, 20,000. And if you look, there's like all these stands set up and like, people from all over the country in the world chipped in to like, feed everybody and make sure everybody had drinks or whatever. So the parents said, okay, we're doing this. And they did it. They stepped up and met their, they kept their welcome to everybody, I guess, is a way to put it.
39:10 Speaker 02 That's kind of great, but I can definitely see on the day that the girl might have been overwhelmed. But I bet she also, in retrospect, is like, hey, I've got one cool story for my life now.
39:20 Josh Clark? Oh, yeah, she's got a big old story. And she got a Chevy Volt.
39:24 Speaker 02 Are you serious?
39:25 Josh Clark? Yeah.
39:26 Speaker 02 I couldn't tell, I literally couldn't tell if you were just being jokey Josh there.
39:30 Josh Clark? No, that was, I didn't even need to be that time.
39:33 Speaker 02 So Chevy got involved, of course.
39:35 Josh Clark? I think her parents gave her that.
39:37 Speaker 02 Oh, I figured Chevy was like, hey.
39:39 Josh Clark? No, I think that was.
39:40 Speaker 02 Get some good press out of this.
39:40 Josh Clark? I think that was her regalo sorpresa.
39:43 Speaker 02 Her surprise gift?
39:44 Josh Clark? Yes.
39:45 Speaker 02 Wow.
39:46 Josh Clark? And speaking of sorpresas, the, that was Yumi's Spanish name, by the way. But speaking of sorpresas, there's also Chuck. Go on to YouTube.
39:57 Josh Clark? And type in baile sorpresa, B A I L E. Sorpresa. And just start watching these videos because the baile sorpresa is one of the hallmarks of the quinceanera party. And they are about as adorable and embarrassing as you can imagine.
40:16 Speaker 02 What does that mean, though? What is it?
40:18 Josh Clark? Oh, it's a surprise dance. So it's like for months ahead of time, the quinceanera and her court will practice a dance.
40:27 Speaker 02 Right.
40:27 Josh Clark? That they make up or that they hire like a choreographer and they will like perform this dance for the guests. It's a surprise dance. It's like part of the quinceanera. And they're, they're very cute to watch.
40:42 Speaker 02 And so they try to have fun with it, I guess?
40:44 Josh Clark? They do, but they also are really, they're very earnest about it, too. Like they, like they practice this dance and they, they're doing it and it's, it's very cute.
40:53 Speaker 02 That's wonderful.
40:53 Josh Clark? You can also hire chambalanes, professional ones.
40:58 Speaker 02 Oh, really?
40:58 Josh Clark? They're all like dancers by trade, so they'll, they'll like really knock your socks off of your guests, but it's, you know, it's lacking that heart of something you and your friends came up with yourself.
41:08 Speaker 02 Or you could, if you had a lot of dough, you could hire a choreographer like Paula Abdul or something.
41:12 Josh Clark? Yeah, yeah, like her.
41:15 Speaker 02 She's still choreographing, right?
41:17 Josh Clark? Yeah.
41:17 Speaker 02 Choreographing? Choreographing.
41:20 Josh Clark? Something bad wrong with us today.
41:22 Speaker 02 I know, man.
41:24 Josh Clark? You got anything else?
41:25 Speaker 02 I do. This is a little sorpresa for you, my friend.
41:30 Speaker 02 There was a father in Texas, a couple of years ago, that spent $6 million.
41:36 Josh Clark? Oh, my.
41:36 Speaker 02 On his 15 year old daughter.
41:38 Josh Clark? Oh, my.
41:39 Speaker 02 He, uh, what's his name here? He's an attorney named Thomas J. Henry of San Antonio. They're a very kind of well-known family. His daughter Maya is, uh, big on Instagram and social media and she's big into activism. So she's like, you know, uh, she's not just your ordinary teen.
41:58 Josh Clark? Good for her. Although that is kind of ordinary these days, thankfully.
42:02 Speaker 02 To be a well-known teen activist?
42:04 Josh Clark? Well, to be active.
42:05 Speaker 02 Sure.
42:06 Josh Clark? Yeah.
42:06 Speaker 02 But at her quinceañera, she had Nick Jonas perform, uh, Pitbull performed.
42:12 Josh Clark? Sure.
42:14 Speaker 02 Let me see what else here. A 55,000 square foot.
42:18 Speaker 02 Space that they built, I don't think they built it from scratch. But it does say that it was built.
42:27 Speaker 02 Purpose built venue.
42:28 Josh Clark? How many guests?
42:29 Speaker 02 600 guests.
42:31 Josh Clark? Man.
42:32 Speaker 02 A 30 foot tall cherry trees, a 30 foot tall cherry cheese and full blossom.
42:38 Josh Clark? Wow.
42:39 Speaker 02 Walls of roses, a garden room, the ballroom with butterflies suspended from the ceiling. She wore a Rolando Santana dress, which means nothing to me.
42:48 Josh Clark? Yeah, me either.
42:49 Speaker 02 But I assume that means it's something. She had her makeup done by Patrick Ta, who does the Kardashians. Her photographer was Michelle Obama's photographer. And Thomas Henry and his wife, whose name is Azteca, beautiful name. They hired a New York social event planner named David Mon. He had 150 person team to to plan out this party. And finally, they arrived by police escort in nine Rolls Royces.
43:19 Josh Clark? Well, cause why not? Why not get the police involved?
43:22 Speaker 02 And not to feel too bad for her little brother, or I guess maybe it was a big brother. He spent $4 million on that kid's 18th birthday, I believe.
43:34 Josh Clark? Queso preza.
43:35 Speaker 02 So they have, they dropped 10 million bucks on a couple of parties for their kids.
43:41 Josh Clark? Man, and those, the girls in Mexico City are happy to, to be part of the citywide annual one.
43:49 Speaker 02 Yeah, I wonder what Pitbull got paid for that, a mill?
43:53 Josh Clark? Uh, maybe. I bet Nick Jonas got more than Pitbull did.
43:58 Speaker 02 You think?
43:58 Josh Clark? Yeah.
43:59 Speaker 02 And of course she had her, her pictures with both of them and.
44:03 Josh Clark? Well, sure.
44:04 Speaker 02 I'm sure that was part of it. It's like.
44:05 Josh Clark? Uh, yeah. Man. All right. Well, that is something. What's her name? Maya?
44:10 Speaker 02 Yeah.
44:10 Josh Clark? Maya Henry? Oh, I gotta look that up.
44:15 Josh Clark? If you want to know more about quinceañera as well, just show up to one uninvited.
44:22 Speaker 02 Yeah.
44:22 Josh Clark? See, see how that goes.
44:23 Speaker 02 You know what? You'd probably be welcomed.
44:25 Josh Clark? Probably Chuck, probably. And since I said probably a couple of times, it's time for listener mail.
44:33 Speaker 02 Hey guys, long time listener, card carrying member of the Stuff You Should Know Army. Always wanted to write in, but just hadn't found the right topic until the It Stranger Things script retooling debate. Those during emojis. Stephen King is by far my favorite author and it is my absolute favorite of his novels. Highly recommend. Also a huge Stranger Things fan. Though I have no media experience, I do have an MBA and know a thing or two about marketing. For what it's worth, I side with Josh. With the studio definitely retooling the script to create synergies between It and Stranger Things. Aside from casting the Stranger Things kid, which to me is a smoking gun. They changed the setting in the film to take place in the 80s, like Stranger Things. In the novel, the story follows the main characters is in the 50s and then again as adults in the 80s.
45:18 Speaker 02 There are elements of the story that didn't translate as well into the 80s, in my opinion. But it was a small price to pay in order to captivate that Stranger Things audience. Just one guy's opinion, but I'd like to say one guy's informed opinion. Sorry Chuck, for what it's worth, as a movie crush, or as a movie buff, I always catch movie crush. Keep it up. Mike Sanders. And Mike.
45:42 Speaker 02 I, I did a very simple Google search. It found that Stranger Things was released in July 2016 and principal photography of It began about a week before that.
45:54 Josh Clark? Okay.
45:54 Speaker 02 So that's therefore rendering that impossible.
45:57 Josh Clark? Here's the thing. Movies have been known to change horses midstream, right? I don't think that that settles it, if you ask me.
46:08 Speaker 02 So you think they shot a bunch of the movie in the 1950s and said, wait a minute, this TV show over here is doing great.
46:13 Josh Clark? No, no, no, no, no.
46:14 Speaker 02 Let's go make it the 80s.
46:16 Josh Clark? No, I don't think that.
46:17 Speaker 02 And let's recast this kid that we've already cast.
46:19 Josh Clark? I think, I, I think that they're, I think that they did retool. I do.
46:25 Speaker 02 After they started shooting.
46:27 Josh Clark? Yeah, I don't think they did. I don't think they were shooting in the 50s. I think they were probably shooting in the 80s. I think they really, my whole point has been that they played up the same things that Stranger Things was known for and that you wouldn't find in the book It, and that they plumped up that stuff because of Stranger Things. That's my assertion.
46:51 Speaker 02 So as they're shooting the film It.
46:53 Josh Clark? They're doing rewrites.
46:55 Speaker 02 They're doing rewrites because they're like, man, we gotta walk into this TV show.
46:59 Josh Clark? Yes, and you can also do that in the editing booth, as you know as well, which would have happened long after Stranger Things was already a smash cultural phenomenon.
47:10 Josh Clark? That's, I don't think it's settled, man.
47:12 Speaker 02 Okay.
47:12 Josh Clark? And it never will be.
47:13 Speaker 02 All right.
47:14 Josh Clark? Until the editor tells me himself or herself that I'm just dead wrong.
47:19 Speaker 02 Okay.
47:20 Josh Clark? If you want to settle a bet, you can send us an email to [email protected] . And as always, join us at our home on the web, stuffyoushouldknow.com.
47:32 Speaker 00 Stuff You Should Know is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts, MyHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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