SAN BENITO — Doors are open in one large room where tables are lined up along the walls while a team of experts work on hair and makeup under soft white lighting.
In another room, a group of girls who have already been made up take group selfies in front of a wall where bright, colorful dresses hang.
Last night, more than 70 girls took part in Veterans Memorial Academy’s annual Quinceañera Ball, an event that helps San Benito’s ninth graders celebrate their 15th birthday.
A quinceañera has been known as a right of passage for Hispanic girls and marks the transition into adulthood.
Between the dress, hair, makeup, venue, food and everything in between, the traditional celebration can often be a costly one.
After realizing some of his students were unable to afford their own quinceañera, Veterans Memorial Academy Principal Gilbert Galvan and his staff came up with an idea.
They would create a quinceañera ball to help the young girls in his ninth-grade campus celebrate their birthday.
That was four years ago and since then, more than 150 girls have participated in the quinceanera celebration.
“This is amazing,” Galvan gestured to the gym that had been transformed into a venue with hanging lanterns and fancy decorations to celebrate the girls. “We’re having more than 70 dreams come true.”
Galvan said he was thankful to his school administration but most importantly he was thankful for the help from the community.
Throughout the year, the campus has been taking in donations from the community.
Tiaras and gently-used dresses were dropped off for donation.
Southern Career Institute brought by 25 students to help with hair and makeup.
Every detail was planned so the girls would have the perfect night.
Community in Schools coordinator Irma Galvan had been helping the girls find the perfect dress throughout the year.
This year, participation more than doubled requiring Irma to start fitting girls with dresses right away.
Irma said the girls are always grateful for the event.
One student, America Rubio, is already 16 years old but views the ball as a chance to do something she wasn’t able to do because she couldn’t afford it.
Rubio said the tradition marks an important milestone in her life and the ball will allow here to celebrate that milestone with her family and her father who is a migrant worker and often gone for work.
“The most important part to me would be the father-daughter dance because that’s where the father introduces us and he’s admitting that we’re growing up,” Rubio said.
For a lot of girls who don’t normally wear dresses, the dance is an opportunity to dress to the nines for a day.
“My mom is going to take a lot of pictures,” Lindzey Rodriguez laughed. “You never see me in a dress so she is going to be there and is going to take a lot of pictures.”
Decorated to match it’s “A Night in Paris” theme, Galvan said he wanted to make sure it was a night the girls would remember.
“We do it all for our students,” Galvan said. “I tell the girls, ‘okay we have this night, but then college, college, college.’ I am real big on them getting an education and getting a good job and having a good life.”
– Last doll: Symbolic of the birthday girl leaving her childhood behind. Usually the doll wears a dress similar to the birthday.
– Heels: Parents changing the girl’s shoes from flats to a pair of heels symbolizes the girl’s first steps into society as a young adult.
– The court: Traditionally 14 girls and 14 boys were chosen to be part of the court and represent each year of the girl’s life.
– The waltz: A choreographed dance routine performed by the birthday girl and her court.
– Father/Daughter dance: Customarily the first dance for the quinceanera, it emphasizes the role of the father as the first man in a girl’s life.
