Q - Quinceañera: A Different View

“Girl, you’ll be a woman soon”

A quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s passage into womanhood. I’m sure that 90% of the “Q” blogs about Ecuador use the word for this entry; I’m doing the same, but I’m probably taking a different approach than the other blogs.

This is possibly the most important event in a girl’s life; it symbolizes her eligibility for marriage and child-bearing. (The age of consent in Ecuador is 14.) Held on a girl’s 15^th birthday, it is accompanied by an elaborate party for which some families will spend thousands of dollars to celebrate.

Most of us from the northern hemisphere (NH) are shocked and saddened by the sight of teenage girls (kids in their own right) with their own children in tow. I want to try to explain why I think (traditionally) it was a necessary custom.

Before making strong connections to the “outside world” (roads, phones, Internet, etc.), I’m guessing that life expectancy on the coast (as a mean) was about 45 years old – mostly for the men. Life has been tough here; I see men in their 40’s that look 70. Many fishermen can’t swim, and life on the water is challenging enough as it is.

Here’s my math, following a pattern: assuming that a boy and girl are the same age (16) when they marry (a euphemism), a man would be a grandfather at 32 and a great-grandfather at 48. On average, men would not get to be great-grandfathers, something I’m guessing most NH’ers regard as being common. Consummation early in life was necessary for the continuation and growth of the town.

Should the tradition be changed or eliminated?  I think so.  I do not think it is a social necessity anymore and the cost burden is prohibitive in many cases.  It might take a generation for change to happen, however.