Allison Arredondo had dreamed of having a quinceañera since she was a young girl.
But when her parents told the Elgin teen they weren’t planning to have one for her, she understood. The financial strain would be a lot for the family. Plus, Allison wants to save money for college.
“I was just like, OK. I didn’t mind,” Allison said.
Enter some fairy godmothers, who decided she wasn’t going to be deprived of the once-in-a-lifetime party, which is a Hispanic coming-of-age celebration for a girl’s 15th birthday.
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church vicar Andrea Delaney and parishioner Jackie Kutina asked Allison’s parents if they could step in and throw the quinceañera, or quince, for her.
Delaney and Kutina have known Allison since she was 7 years old. She came to an after-school tutoring program Kutina founded, and now Allison and her older brother help Kutina with a summer lunch program.
“This is one of the sweetest families ever,” Delaney said.
Allison’s mom, Lorena Arrendondo, was happy and grateful for their offer. “I never thought someone could do this for my daughter,” she said.
“She’s wanted (a quinceañera) since she was 7 years old. We are a humble family. We weren’t going to do a quince. But Andrea asked us if we would allow them to do it for her,” Arredondo said.
A quinceañera is an important tradition for Mexicans, said Arredondo, a mother of five who’s originally from Michoacan in Mexico. It’s something that has been passed on for generations, she said.
Typically, a quince is like a wedding — the girl goes to church for a blessing and then is feted with a reception, special dances, a cake cutting and other traditions.
Allison, who turned 15 in June, watches quinceañera videos on social media, and said she loves the dresses, which are usually ballroom gowns similar to a wedding or evening dress. She also likes watching the traditional dances, like the father daughter dance.
She was surprised to learn Delaney and Kutina wanted to throw her a quince, which was held at the church last weekend.
“I’m really grateful to them. You don’t find someone willing to do a quinceañera for you,” Allison said.
Delaney and Kutina like throwing parties, Delaney said. Neither of them had ever gone to a quinceañera, but Delaney had friends whose children had quinceañeras and she researched what they entrailed.
“Allison is having a fairly scaled-down one,” Delaney said. “She was really happy with a simple one.”
Allison was more interested in having a blessing, food, dancing and togetherness, she said.
Delaney helped Allison and her mom pick her red dress from the YWCA’s Cinderella’s Closet, which provides prom dresses for high school students who can’t afford them.
“I didn’t find an actual quince dress, but (the one she chose was) really puffy and big,” Allison said. “It’s really nice. I really liked the color.”
The YWCA donated the dress to Allison, who also wore a tiara and necklace.
The Elgin church’s remodeled basement was decorated in red and the Chinese Mutual Aid Association, which has an office in the church’s building, provided the food.
A two-tiered cake and cupcakes sat on a table that also featured a candy bar. The DJ brought lights to turn the basement into a fun space. Volunteers helped set up and did cleanup duty.
It ended up being an intimate affair, with about 50 people attending, including some of her friends, neighbors and church parishioners.
Helping Allison have her special day was special to Delaney as well.
“It feels good to support a young person who has a lot of dreams for her life. At the end of the day, I just hope she knows how many people are in her corner,” she said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
