The Spanish-language term for a girl celebrating her fifteenth birthday and the celebration itself is quinceañera.
The word is used especially in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Latino communities in the United States. It can describe both the celebrant and the formal event marking her fifteenth birthday.
The celebration commonly combines a family party with symbolic customs, music, dancing, formal clothing, and, for many Catholic families, a church service. Practices differ widely by country, family, religion, and budget, so there is no single universal quinceañera script.
English-language sources sometimes translate the term as “sweet fifteen” or “fifteenth birthday,” but quinceañera remains the standard Spanish name. The masculine form quinceañero is also used in some communities, although terminology varies.