- [All] Wow!
- [Curly] That looks so good!
- [Xochitl] Super blingy 'cause that's just, you know,
the person I am, big, wild,
so we'll just go all out.
(upbeat techno music)
- Hello, my beautiful people
and welcome to "Mi Quinceañera Come True",
the show in which the Pero Like team
helps soon-to-be quinceañeras from our audience
achieve their dream quince.
We searched high and low for quinceañeras
with unique stories and we are so excited
to share them with you.
Each episode we will highlight a different quinceañera
and their family, find the best way
to help elevate their celebration, and of course,
For this episode, we found Xochitl,
hailing from Burbank, California.
Her quinceañera is going to be so special,
because not only is she combining indigenous tradition
with Mexican culture,
Xochitl and her family are also part of the Deaf community.
So, I'm going to be helping her find the perfect dress.
(magical tinkling music) Let's meet her.
(air whooshing) - My name is Xochitl Garcia
and I'm from Burbank, California.
I have wanted a quince for basically my entire life,
because it's pretty much all my family talked about
since I can remember.
- The memory I have of my sweet fifteen is
two things: I passed out in the mass,
and I ended up crying.
- So, I just met Xochitl's family.
They're so sweet, they're so amazing!
We have just a few weeks before the quince,
and we're gonna look for a dress, I'm so excited!
But we have a lot of work to do.
(traditional Mexican guitar music)
- Hi, my name is Jose, - My name is Emilio,
and this is our bridal shop, Anita's Bridal Boutique.
- The best quality in a quinceañera dress is just the glitz,
the glamor, the sparkle, all the rhinestones,
all the detailing, you know, the intricate embroidery,
everything that's like,
what you want in a quinceañera dress.
That's, you just want to be the center of attention
and have that wow factor.
The bigger the better.
- What's up guys?
Today we're gonna meet Xochitl and her family,
and we're gonna look for an amazing quince dress.
I'm also excited because I got a little
.
up my sleeve, you know what I'm saying?
(funky upbeat bass music)
Hey, welcome! (All laughing)
What's up guys, we're getting you a dress today.
- Cool. - I mean, look at this.
Look at my little, my little back one I have right here.
- You look great, I'm loving it.
- Thank you. - Very, it's very you.
- I mean, I never had a quince, so this is my opportunity
to try one, you know?
- How are you enjoying it?
- It's, I can't breathe, but I'm excited.
I'm excited for you to find your dress.
- I'm super excited.
- All right, let's do this, y'all ready?
- Definitely. - [All] Yeah!
- I'm not taking this off.
I'm gonna keep it on the whole time.
(laughing) Come on, let's go.
(upbeat funky keyboard music)
Do you have an idea of like what you're looking for?
- Honestly, probably something really classy,
and not super fancy, but not really super real plain.
- Mmhmm, do you want like the big,
you want to go all out, like?
- Oh, yeah, yeah, we're gonna do all that.
- Oh, good, I like that!
(funky jazz horn music)
What about this one?
- [Xochitl] Is everyone ready?
- [All] Yes!
(curtains rustle, Curly growls)
- [All] Wow!
- [Xochitl] Isn't it pretty?
- Yes! - That looks so good!
- Isn't it like princessy?
I think that the color is really nice,
it's just not exactly what I'm looking for
and I think that the beading's also really,
like, intricate but it's also not,
like, totally what I'm looking for.
.
(cloth flipping, Curly growls)
(Spanish pop music) - [All] Wow!
.
- Turn, turn! - Yeah, spin for us.
- You gotta spin!
- How? - Oh my goodness!
- [Xochitl] There's a problem.
- What?
- I don't know how to walk in it.
(all laughing) - No, (laughing) I'm serious!
I think that it may be just a tad too much.
- One, two, three!
(magical tinkling music) - [All] Wow!
(applause)
- I don't even have any thing to say about it, like,
I, it's literally perfect.
Like, I don't have a single flaw about it.
Like, there's nothing. - Wow.
.
- Oh, wow. - Yes, yes.
That's it. - I love that one.
It's so modern on you. - I really think that
this is the one. - It's really beautiful.
- This is your moment.
This is when you spread your wings and fly.
I love you.
- Stop!
(sniffles) - [Mom] Aw.
- Give your daddy a hug, don't be shy.
- [Mom] Aw!
(all clapping) - Yay!
We'll take it!
- Xochitl is a person with a strong spirit.
She's always had a mind of her own.
She always knew what she wanted
and she would always go for it.
You know, of course, what Xochitl always wanted
was something that was beneficial for her,
but at the same time would be beneficial for her family.
So, in a sense, Xochitl has always been love and light
for us as her parents,
for her family, and for her community.
(air whooshing) - All right you guys, so,
so far there's a lot going on,
and not really much is done at all.
We're in a huge, huge space, we're expecting 500 people.
Sylvia has a small group of people that,
family, friends, students, um, people in the community
that are helping her, she has me,
but we're in a time crunch.
So I have an idea!
We're gonna call for some reinforcements, come on!
.
- You made it!
- Yay! - Yay (laughing)!
- Quinceañera, quinceañera, quinceañera!
- I haven't seen you in such a long time!
- I know, it's been a while. (laughing)
- Oh my god (laughing).
- Did your back crack!
- Uh, no, not yet.
- All right, well, we're about to make your back crack.
We have some work to do. - Ah, damn.
(all laughing)
(rapid traditional Mexican music)
- No rain!
- Today? - Not today, not tomorrow!
It's just gonna be kinda cloudy, partially sunny.
We're perfect.
- I'm already in the zone, yo.
(laughing)
(man singing in Spanish)
(Mom laughing)
(upbeat bass hip-hop music)
- Xochitl will have something that is very unique
to our family and to our community
because we are finally bringing in
our three cultures together.
That being of the indigenous people,
that being of Deaf culture,
and that being of our Catholic tradition
and we are really trying to integrate and show balance.
(maraca rattling) - Spirits in this direction
to bless Xochitl
on her path, compliment her path,
compliment the beauty and the strength
that she carries inside.
.
- Aw, thank you.
(kisses)
(contemplative native flute music)
(drum beating, rainstick rattling)
.
- When they asked me if I wanna be part
in helping her to be part of the ceremony
and I said, "Why not?"
It was an opportunity for two reasons:
it start bonding with her,
so that way she can teach me about the new technology
and I can teach him about the old ways.
We are right here together for one purpose.
And what is the main purpose? (wind rustling)
To hand over this beautiful señorita--
If she can spend, I'd say probably 15 to 20 minutes a day
to come down and learn about your culture, customs,
and tradition, and get ready to discover these gifts.
So that way you can be a beautiful young lady growing up,
but with roots, because I don't want you growing up
and the first time that we have a wind or storm,
you wanna fall off.
I want you to be grounded into your cultura.
With these ceremonies, with this tradition,
so that way you can go wherever you want to go
knowing who you are.
(religious organ music)
(maracas rattling, drum beating)
(camera shutter clicking)
- In the tradition, the Catholic tradition,
we remember when the Virgin Mary accepted the responsibility
of bringing Jesus to the world,
we imagined that the Virgin Mary was 15.
So all of those things are coming together
to become one, um, wonderful tradition.
- Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to save me.
- Bless us, in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
(applause)
(processional trumpet music) (camera shutters clicking)
- Words that I want to share with Xochitl,
I think we put it on her invitation,
and it was in regards to,
"Don't forget you came from,
"but never lose sight of where you're going."
- Another quote is, "All the stars in the Universe danced
"on the day that you were born."
I want you know, Xochitl, that no matter where you go
in life, for me the stars will always be dancing.
.
- Aw. (kisses)
(fantasy flute music)
(slow violin waltz music)
- Xochitl is in a time of transition
and in a time of acceptance and trying to embrace everything
and she is still struggling with that,
trying to compare herself with her non-Deaf peers,
her non-indigenous peers, her non-Mexican peers (chuckling).
Her friends are seeing what our family is like.
She's just moving on now, she's just accepting.
- When I was 15, Xochitl, there were a lot of things
that I really didn't feel strong about.
I felt like they set me apart
and they made me too different.
And now those are the things
that I get celebrated for the most,
so I hope you take that with you.
I hope you remember us, I hope you move through life
celebrating every part of yourself.
You're gonna do so well, you're already killing the game
and you're only 15.
The bus was beautiful.
It always kind of cracks me up, too,
'cause buses and the bailes de sorpresa,
they're little kids.
Everyone's like 14, 15, so they're like,
everyone's like, "why am I here?"
"What am I doing, what is this dance?"
None of the boys want to move.
No one wants to move their hips too hard,
you know what I mean?
- Ladies and metro men, make some noise
for Xochitl and her court!
(applause, cheering)
- My favorite part of the party
was Xochitl's little baby cousin,
who was so quiet and so chill
throughout the entire setup of the whole party.
The food was delicious, the family was so good.
Actually I had a lot of favorite parts about it.
I think how welcoming they were,
how much they were willing to open up,
and how much they were willing to teach us,
and to welcome us into their own community.
Whether they were teaching us sign language
or they were teaching us about traditions
that we forgot about our own people.
It really did feel like home.
It felt like a really good space to be in.
(slow contemplative acoustic guitar music)
Xochitl, I hope you had an amazing time with us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much
for letting us be a part of your special moment.
We really were there to celebrate you.
You looked absolutely beautiful,
your makeup was on point, your dress was on point.
I wish you all the best.
I hope you had a good time,
and I'm so thankful that you let us come through
and celebrate with you.
(happy upbeat music)
All right, let's talk about dresses, y'all.
Dresses are super important.
Dresses can make or break the quince, just so you know.
Everybody wants to know
what you're gonna look like in the dress.
What dress did she pick, what color did she pick,
what silhouette did she pick?
Some go really traditional, really big;
some go really modern, really sleek.
But it's kind of like a big deal.
It's like our mini, mini, mini version
of like, the Met Gala, I think.
So, tiara.
Are you gonna with a tiara?
Are you old school in that way?
Maybe not.
Silhouette, ooh, silhouette.
If I was a quince, I would like, obnoxious
with how big my dress would be.
I would (beep) knock (beep) over.
I want it to be that big.
Gloves: yes, please!
Corset, yes, ooh!
When I tried that dress on,
that dress was amazing.
That dress like cinched me
in!
I think that on your day, you should be as campy
and as ridiculous as you could possibly be in a dress,
and just kind of knock everybody dead, literally,
with your dress.
- [Child] Pero Like