The Blue & White

By Anthony Beras

On Friday, February 10, 2023, the Spanish and Multicultural clubs held their annual Quinceañera ball in the Methuen High School main lobby and cafeteria. It was a night filled with many fun activities, events and numerous surprises for the guests.

For some background, the Spanish Club has been organizing the Quinceañera Ball since 2018, and this event has been a success ever since. This year was the first year that Ms. Maria Figuereo, Spanish and Multicultural club advisor, organized the event along with members of both clubs and with the school Foreign Language Department.

A Quinceañera is the coming of age tradition for a young Latina girl when she turns fifteen years old. It is very similar to a Sweet Sixteen that is celebrated in the United States. At the MHS event, a court of participants is made up of both young women and men. The girls represent the Quinceanera (or the birthday girl) and each have an escort, also known as Chambelan, who court the girls and dance with them. The Quinceañeras and their escorts were; Melanie Hernandez and Joseph Vecchi; Yanelis Serrano and Jakob Traynor; Jayclyn Maldonado and Sabiel Sanchez; and Noelia Mendez and Dael Osorio. President Alma Mayorga Perdomo and Vice President Anthony Beras of the Spanish Club were the Masters of Ceremonies and narrated the event.

During the event there was a waltz dance that was prepared by the court and then later on there was a surprise dance that was a lot of fun. There are many rituals that are part of the Quinceanera that symbolize the transition from little girl to young lady: the changing of shoes, putting on a tiara, the doll ceremony, a father-daughter dance, and a flower ceremony. There was tons of dancing and enjoying some very delicious hispanic food from El Pez Dorado. The night ended with some more dancing, cake, and singing happy birthday to round out the traditional events of an authentic Quinceañera.

We, the students of the club, are very appreciative of the opportunity the school provides to celebrate Hispanic culture in events like this one. It helps show the great diversity that our school community has as well. It is very pleasing to have this event happen since it is a very fun thing to do outside of school and helps create a stronger community outside of academics. The Spanish and Multicultural Clubs look forward to this tradition continuing for many more years and seeing many more students participate in the future.