Illinois book examines quinceañeras in pop culture
A shopper looks at Quinceañera dresses in Los Angeles in 2014. Jae C. Hong/AP
In Latina culture, a girl’s fifteenth birthday is a special occasion.
There are, of course, many ways we celebrate coming of age, from sweet sixteens to bar and bat mitzvahs. But as America becomes a more diverse country, the quinceañera has grown in both popularity and visibility.
TV shows and movies use them to bring Latina representation to the screen. And they’re an opportunity for Latina girls and women, and their communities, to assert their presence in American life. And yet, the quinceañera is far from a universal experience.
All of this is the subject of a new essay collection called Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture (University of Illinois Press 2026).
Guests
Angharad Valdivia
Emeritus Professor • Latino/Latina Studies; Institute of Communications Research • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Editor, “Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture”
Jillian M. Báez
Associate professor • Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies • Hunter College
Editor, “Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture”
Diana Leon-Boys
Assistant professor • Media and Cultural Studies • University of Wisconsin–Madison
Editor, “Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture”
