<P> The fiesta de quince años (also fiesta de quinceañera, quince años and quince) is a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday . It has its cultural roots in Latin America but is widely celebrated today throughout the Americas . The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a quinceañera (Spanish pronunciation: (kinseaˈɲeɾa); feminine form of "fifteen - year - old"). In Spanish, and in Latin American countries, the term quinceañera is reserved solely for the girl . In English, primarily in the United States, the term is used (mostly by non-Latinos) to refer to the celebrations associated with the birthday, such as when the male or female dance with the 15 - year - old and entertain the crowd . </P> <P> This birthday is celebrated differently from any other as it marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood . Historically, in the years prior to their fifteenth birthdays, girls were taught cooking, weaving, and about childbearing by the elder women in their communities in preparation for their future roles as wives . </P>

A quiceanera is held around the time a girl turns what age