The Finale

May Trejo-Vasquez finally gets the quince... was it worth it?

April 21, 2021

Waltzing with the chambelanes, May Trejo-Vasquez and her court perform the second dance in her quinceañera. Although everything played out smoothly in the end, Trejo-Vasquez and her court had some problems performing the waltz in the rehearsals leading to the big night, due to Trejo-Vasquez’s ball gown. “It was pretty difficult, the boys kept slipping on [the dress] in our last practice but we got it down,” Trejo-Vasquez said.

The week leading up to the quinceañera was filled with last minute preparations. The Trejo-Vasquez family did not have a planner to make sure they checked all the boxes, but they had some guidance from their cousins and extended family, who have hosted quinces before.

“[The days leading up to the quince] were stressful because we were running errands like everyday day and doing multiple things every day. There was one day where we had to go find masks for the girls, but then we also had to go pick up a money box [to collect gifts from guests], go pick out some flowers; we just had to do multiple things every day,” Trejo-Vasquez said.

The night before the big day, Trejo-Vasquez and her family and friends stayed at the venue, the Omni San Antonio Hotel at the Colonnade in San Antonio, Texas, and slept there that night. They woke up bright and early on the day of the event, March 5.

Once everyone was up and awake, the real preparation commenced. While Trejo-Vasquez got ready, her court made sure they were as ready.

“I got my hair done, and then my friends started showing up around 3 p.m. and they were all just downstairs just practicing the dances while I was getting dressed. They were all so scared because they didn’t want to ruin it for me. My friend Katy got the dances down really easily so they all said ‘if you mess up just look at Katy’,” Trejo-Vasquez said. “There were two songs, and we did three practices that were two hours long, so six hours of practice for six minutes of the ceremony.”

Smiling and making memories, May Trejo-Vasquez and her long-time friend Katy Bendele stand together for the camera during Trejo-Vasquez’s quinceañera. Trejo-Vasquez picked Katy to be in her court because they have been friends for years. “I’ve known her since fifth grade, we met through her mom because she was our teacher and we just started to talk a lot, now we’re like sisters,” Trejo-Vasquez said. (Courtesy of May Trejo-Vasquez)

After Trejo-Vasquez got ready, she went to the main hotel lobby to take pictures with her friends and family. The court opened the doors to let the guests in, where they did the presentation of the quinceañera.

“My parents walked me in and then they did the shoes and the crown and everything… you’re supposed to change into a pair of heels to signify going from a child to a woman,” Trejo-Vasquez said. “First I had these shoes that kind of looked like Vans, but sparkly, and then I changed into sparkly heels.”

Although most onlookers would have judged the presentation of the quinceañera as perfect and ceremonial, the Trejo-Vasquez family were running around making everything work behind the scenes.

“I think [my parents] were just stressed during the whole presentation because they couldn’t find the flowers so it was kind of a mess for a second. They wanted it to be the perfect day but still be present. There were moments when we would finish something and I didn’t know what to do next so I’d just kinda stand there waiting to be told what happened next. I felt like I was just stressed out,” Trejo-Vasquez said.

Reflecting on the last year of moving, trying to find venues and a dress, the cancellations from COVID-19 and the fight for refunds, and the added bumps in the road from the cold snap in Texas, Trejo-Vasquez is not sure that it was all worth it.

“After it’s all over I felt really tired because the party didn’t end until 12 in the morning, but then we went back to our hotel room and stayed up all night talking. We had to wake up early the next morning to get on a flight to come back [to St. Louis], so I was just tired,” Trejo-Vasquez said. “It was definitely a feeling of ‘we just did that all for the one night and now it’s over,’ so part of it is a relief but it’s also like ‘wait that’s it?’”

As she adjusts to life as a quince, Trejo-Vasquez wonders if the ceremony was worth the time, energy and money her family spent on the event.

“If I had a choice to do this all over again or keep the money I would keep the money. It was great but I just don’t think it was worth how much we spent. Just like one night for that whole year of planning and money was just not worth it,” Trejo-Vasquez.