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How young women's coming of age rites cement community relations and reinforce ethnic identity
Celebrating Debutantes and Quinceañeras
Coming of Age in American Ethnic Communities
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Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez
"Rodriguez presents a nuanced reading of the coming-of-age celebration in both Mexican and Filipino communities in her analysis of the two vis-à-vis larger issues of representation and situated identities. Her careful and insightful writing about issues that seem to lie beneath the surface of many of these celebrations includes extensive quotes from fieldwork that add depth and meaning to the analysis and discussion of the sexuality and complex social and economic networks inherent in these rituals."
—Norma Elia Cantú, Professor of Latina/o Studies and English at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and author of Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera
Looking beyond the satin gowns, opera-length gloves, and sparkling tiaras that signify Filipina debutantes and Mexican quinceañeras, Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez examines the meaning of these coming-of-age rituals for immigrant American families. Celebrating Debutantes and Quinceañeras draws parallels between these communal ceremonies, as they share a commonality in Spanish heritage and Catholicism in a highly ritualized celebration. Rodriguez analyzes these rites and festivities to explain what they reveal about the individuals, families, and communities that organize and participate in them.
Drawing on over fifty in-depth interviews with members of these fast-growing American Asian and Latino populations, Rodriguez shows how these communal celebrations of daughters have been adapted by immigrant families to assert their cultural pride and affirm their American belonging. Celebrating Debutantes and Quinceañeras provides an intimate and compelling portrait of the various ways immigrants and their children are purposefully, strategically, and creatively employing Filipina American debutantes and Mexican American quinceañeras to simultaneously challenge and assimilate into U.S. culture and forge new understandings of what it means to be "Mexican," "Filipina," and "American."
Excerpt
Reviews
"Rodriguez makes a significant contribution to the literature on migration, gender, and ritual with her fascinating book, Celebrating Debutantes and Quinceañeras. While there has been analysis of Anglo-American debutante balls, Rodriguez’s study takes on gender, race, class, and the complexities of assimilation with sensitivity. Among her many fine observations are her nuanced discussions of performance of class aspiration and achievement of class mobility in this gendered ritual."
— Allan Punzalan Isaac, Associate Professor of American Studies and English at Rutgers University and author of American Tropics: Articulating Filipino America
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Una Cordial Invitación
2. “No Two Are the Same”: Quinceañera and Debut Rituals and Performances
3. Lazos/Ties That Bind: Quinceañera and Debut Social Networks
4. Pagdadalaga/Blossoming: Becoming the Debutante
5. Traviesos/Troublemakers
6. Pagalaala Na/Just a Remembrance: The Work of Making Memories
7. Conclusion: The After-Party
Appendix Nandiyan Lang/Just over (T)Here: Ethnographic Reflections on Researching American Immigrant Families
Notes
References
Index
About the Author(s)
Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of San Francisco.