Published on Friday, June 27, 2008
By AMANDA STRINDBERG
It's the day she's been dreaming about since she was a little girl. She will wear a big Cinderella-like dress, arrive to the reception in no less than a Hummer-stretch limo and wow guests with a choreographed dance complete with fog machines and theatrical lighting.
"It's going to be the most wonderful day of my life," said Jasmine Perez, of Riverside, flashing a big smile revealing a mouth full of braces.
Perez is 14 years old and, no, she isn't dreaming about her wedding but her quinceañera, a coming-of-age ritual for Hispanic girls on their 15th birthday.
The centuries-old Latin American tradition, which typically includes a Catholic Mass or church ceremony, celebrates the girl's transformation into womanhood.
But in the United States, the ritual has mushroomed into an extravaganza far bigger than it ever was in Latin America, said Julia Alvarez, author of "Once Upon A Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the U.S.A
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