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Claudia Márquez Linares, Grupo Decoro
HAVANA, March (www.cubanet.org) - Some parents here are willing to go to
considerable lengths, including risking jail time, to provide a proper 15th
birthday party, or "quince," for their daughters.
The case of Raiza's family may be extreme, but it's not unusual. They went
on the black market and sold beef until they had the money for Raiza's "quince."
The catch: beef in Cuba is earmarked exclusively for export and tourism. The
crime is "illegal slaughter of cattle"; the sentence, from 5 to 17
years.
That would have put a crimp on family harmony, but they were lucky and Raiza
had a proper "quince."
The party itself, a tradition in Cuba and other parts of Latin America,
marks a young girl's transition into womanhood, and might best be understood as
a dress rehearsal for a wedding, since it involves gowns and formal dresses, a
photographer, food and drink for the guests, music, a rented hall if the event
is sizable, you get the idea. Lately, most of this is payable in dollars.
And there's the rub. By the time you add up the 20- to 50-dollar rental fee
for the gown, another 20 to 50 for shoes, 25 for a videographer, and with the
cake, party food, beer, and wine available either preferably or exclusively in
the dollar market, most Cuban girls would agree that 400 dollars buys a nice,
but not extravagant, party.
The lucky ones have a relative abroad who cares enough to fund the affair.
But with the average monthly salary at around 250 pesos, and the exchange rate
at 27 pesos to the dollar, most families come up with imaginative ways to pay
for the "quince" because, as they say, "you only turn fifteen
once."
Versión original
en español
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