For the uninitiated, the quinceanera celebrates the passage of a fifteen-year-old girl into adulthood: It's a bit bat mitzvah with a dash of debutante ball, and loaded with the same potential for hilarity and adolescent angst. In this original anthology, fifteen of the brightest and funniest Latino writers, men and women alike, share their own memories of these moving and often absurd extravaganzas--tales of that unique form of familial humiliation that is borne of the best intentions, fierce love, and the infectious joy of parents finally allowing their little girl to grow up.

"The quinceaera celebration, with its crowds of admiring family and friends focused on a 15-year-old Latina as she officially comes of age, often evokes wistful, reverential memories — the priest's blessing, the quinceaera's "court" members in their elaborate matching gowns, the opening slow dance of the "quince" with her father. The stories in this collection, however, recall different sorts of memories: a father who's out on parole; the lesbian mother who beds her daughter's boyfriend; the horny bad boys smoking doobies in the parking lot; the drunks in tuxedos puking in the bushes; the former girlfriends catfighting on the dance floor. Instead of sentimentalizing the Hispanic family and the sacred quinceaera, these 15 authors (a third of whom are men) take off the white gloves and talk about what goes on in real families. They talk about not having a "quince" because their families were too poor or their mamis too liberated. They talk about dysfunctional relatives and getting wretchedly drunk at parties and falling in love with the wrong people — just like everyone else in this world. Lopez, writer and former editor of Crticas magazine, writes in her introduction that the stories she's selected are "linked by humor, sadness, and a lot of self-discovery." Many readers — especially 20 or 30-somethings — will find the honesty liberating. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"'The quinceaera celebration, with its crowds of admiring family and friends focused on a 15-year-old Latina as she officially comes of age, often evokes wistful, reverential memories — the priest's blessing, the quinceaera's 'court' members in their elaborate matching gowns, the opening slow dance of the 'quince' with her father. The stories in this collection, however, recall different sorts of memories: a father who's out on parole; the lesbian mother who beds her daughter's boyfriend; the horny bad boys smoking doobies in the parking lot; the drunks in tuxedos puking in the bushes; the former girlfriends catfighting on the dance floor. Instead of sentimentalizing the Hispanic family and the sacred quinceaera, these 15 authors (a third of whom are men) take off the white gloves and talk about what goes on in real families. They talk about not having a 'quince' because their families were too poor or their mamis too liberated. They talk about dysfunctional relatives and getting wretchedly drunk at parties and falling in love with the wrong people — just like everyone else in this world. Lopez, writer and former editor of Crticas magazine, writes in her introduction that the stories she's selected are 'linked by humor, sadness, and a lot of self-discovery.' Many readers — especially 20 or 30-somethings — will find the honesty liberating. (June)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"In ' Fifteen Candles,' Adriana Lopez — the founding editor of Criticas magazine — presents the 15th-birthday tradition through a collection of mortifying, touching and hilarious stories. The authors narrate real situations in real families: that embarrassing moment on the dance floor when no one can waltz, the attendants of a girl's 'court' sneaking off to make out with their boyfriends during rehearsal,..." Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) the propensity to fall in love with the wrong person during the many months of party planning.

In one story, Alberto Rosas relates his experience as a chambelan de honor, the quinceanera's male escort. He inappropriately kissed the birthday girl and ended up sleeping with her lesbian mother. As a result, the dance floor at the boozy fiesta dissolved into a catfight starring the quinceanera, the mother and the chambelan's jealous girlfriend. Not a pretty picture.

Some of the authors, a diverse group in age and nationality, lament that they didn't have a 'quinces' because their families were too poor or their mothers too liberated. Others describe being forced to go through the process despite all their objections.

Mostly, each story reveals a different aspect of the tradition. As Lopez writes, all together 'they will remind you of that fantastically ridiculous but sentimentally meaningful time gone by.'

Luz Lazo is a reporter for the Spanish-language weekly newspaper El Tiempo Latino, owned by the Washington Post Company.

" Reviewed by Luz LazoTina McElroy AnsaMary HollingsworthRon CharlesVince RinehartJohn FerlingLuz Lazo, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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Adriana Lopez was the founding editor of Críticas magazine, Publishers Weekly's Spanish-language sister publication. Lopez's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. A member of the PEN American Center, she lives in New York City.