San Antonio Quinceanera

2013 is turning out to be the year of the Quinceanera for me!  Since not everyone may even know what a Quinceanera is, I'll explain.

Before moving to San Antonio, I had only photographed one quinceanera.  It's a Spanish cultural thing that I didn't understand.  For any wikipedia nerds out there, (like me) Here is the Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era

It's a party that celebrates a girl's transformation to adulthood.  In some cultures it would be similar to a "Coming Out" party, or "Debutante Party".  It also has deep rooted significance within the Catholic Church.

Loosely translated from Spanish it means 'one who is fifteen' or the rather the party that celebrates the fifteenth birthday.

I've been very fortunate to be hired by quite a few families to photograph these events.  The events and celebrations that I get to take part in are very touching and emotional.

I don't want to get on my soapbox here, but it seems that there has been a decline over the years in the family values, and the family unit.  This is not something that you'll see any evidence of at a Quinceanera.  It is incredibly heart-warming to see these close-knit families coming out and the love that I've seen between parents and their daughters... it's reassuring to me that there are still traditional family values alive and well... at least here in South Texas.  

I did some editing on my website last night, adding a slideshow to my Quinceanera page R Spears Photography Quinceanera Page and it made me smile to go over some of the pictures that I'd taken the past year.  To see the eyes of a father dancing with his little girl is just ... I'm not sure how to describe it.  It warms the heart.