As with the hispanic community in California, quinceañero (15th birthday) celebrations are an important part of the Colombian culture. What I didn't realize, though, is that the the celebrations are as extravagant as some weddings. The difference between a quinceañero celebration and a wedding is that 100% of the attention goes to the girl celebrating her quiceañero. Not only does the immediate family participate in the planning, preparation, and funding of the party, the extended family takes part, too, which is probably necessary because of the cost of the party.
I have been invited to two quiceañeros since I have been here and both of them were incredible. In December I attended Giselle Recio's party. Before I attended Giselle's party, I needed another party dress. I decided to return the beautiful, but non-party, dress I bought with Ana Elisa to Mango and purchase a party dress. When I went to Mango to return my dress, though, I learned that in Colombia most stores do not allow returns. WHAT??? They allow exhanges, but not returns. I, therefore, had to try to find a party dress in Mango. Fortunately, I had Daniela and Ivonne with me and they (along with two sales women) helped find several dresses for me to try on. I ended up choosing one that Daniela found hanging on the rack of things to go back on the floor. Both girls where so cute when they told me they liked that dress the best; they said they were sure Giselle would love it. By the way, after we found the dress we walked around the mall for a while. At one point we sat down to chat and we watched a man fall asleep. Daniela and Ivonne could not resist having their picture taken with him.
Giselle chose Broadway as her theme and, after she arrived in a beautiful white dress and had her daddy-daughter dance in which all the other males in the room took a turn dancing with her, she and several of her friends danced to a medly of American songs such as Thriller and I Had the Time of My Life. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance that was no less than 20 minutes long and included several costume changes. I am sure the pictures will not do the performance justice.
After the performance, a DJ turned on music and all of the guests danced for a while. In addition to a DJ there was a live band. At approximately 10:30 p.m. we ate dinner. Although I was eating dinner 4 hours later than usual, it was good. After dinner, the dancing resumed and every guest was give a party favor that included fun glasses and a neon bracelet, among other things. We danced again for a while and then there was a Mariachi group who came and played music...and as soon as they left there was a group who came for Una Hora Loca. Giselle's party was the third time I had gotten to experience Una Hora Loca, which is indeed a crazy hour. With traditional music and people dressed up as Barranquilla Carnaval characters who dance with everyone at the party, it is impossible not to enjoy Una Hora Loca. After the crazy hour we danced again - and yes, I danced every time there was dancing. I don't remember exactly what time I left, but I know it was somewhere around 2:00. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Colombian quinceañero party. It was a very fun party made even more fun by the girls who were there. 
In January I attended Ivonne Cruz's quinceañero. Most of the girls from the school who went to Giselle's party went to Ivonne's. Ivonne's party was different from Giselle's, but equally good. Ivonne's theme for her party was Carnavales. I was excited that I didn't need to buy another party dress, but I did need a carnaval something. Fortunately, I had Maria Jose to take care of me. One evening she took me to buy a hand-painted carnaval t-shirt. It is beautiful! I combined it with a pair of jeans, some beads, the traditional Colombian sombrero earrings Valeria gave me and I was ready to go.
As with Giselle's party, Ivonne made a grand entrance once all of her guests had arrived. She walked in looking like a beautiful fairy dressed in blue with a crown. She had her first dance with her dad and then went from table to table greeting her guests. She then left and changed into an outfit that can be called nothing other than a sexy carnaval costume with an open stomach, open back and feathers trailing from her behind. She danced for her guests (beautifully, I might add) and then we all joined in. There was music and dancing and a live band at her party, too. There was also a Mariachi band and Una Hora Loca. I think we ate dinner even later than we did at Giselle's party, but the food was still yummy. One thing I particularly liked about Ivonne's party were the decorations. Every table centerpiece had a Barbie dressed in a different carnaval outfit. And of course my favorite thing about the party was the girls who were there. I had a wonderful time at my second quinceañero.
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