Monday, February 15, 2010

Amanda's Quinciera - Turning 15
Amanda's Birthday -- Her Quinciera was celebrated in Cumbaya! Amanda's birthday is Valentine's day. She has been a party waiting to happen since she was born! This year she turned fifteen. We have been looking forward to her birthday since we first started learning about the Latino culture. A 'Quinciera' is a very big deal for a young lady. It is the 'Sweet Sixteen' of the Latin world, but it goes way beyond our celebrations!

We enjoyed this celebration with our family and many of Amanda's new Ecuadorian friends. Traditionally, a quinciera is done in all pink, but for Amanda it was ALL PURPLE, or course. In a Quinciera, a young lady passes from a child to woman figuratively and there is a special time when the dad presents his daughter her pair of high heels to signify that she is a woman now. Well, in Ecuador it is very difficult to locate larger sizes of shoes, and we searched for Mandi a pair of shoes............. but we didnt find one. Instead, we presented her with a gift of amethyst jewelry. Perhaps this was the story of Cinderella's slipper, but instead of looking for a princess for the shoe to fit we were looking for the shoe to fit the princess.


It was a very fun evening. We took pictures with her guests. They went on a video scavenger hunt in our urbanization and then we watched the fun tour of the neighborhood. We played lots of games and of course, had lots of food including Amanda's favorite Red Velvet Cake." Congratulations Amanda. We are so proud of the lady God is making you.

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