An industry comes of age
Increasingly extravagant quinceañeras mean big business
RAULJuarezproducedhis first quinceañera expo in Houston in 2001 with a handful of vendors to help families shop for cakes, dresses and reception halls all in one place. Budgets were typically less than $5,000. A stretch limo was a major extravagance.
But as the Latino community has grown — both in numbers and buying power — so has the coming-of-age party for 15-year-olds. At Juarez’s 16th annual expo last month, a manonstilts in a fully lighted robot costume made the rounds while girls perused dresses that cost as muchas$8,000.Theall-inbudgetstoday can easily approach $30,000, he said.
Limos have given way to tour buses or, in some cases, helicopters for a more dramatic entrance. Choreographers charge as much as $4,000 to develop a 15-minute performance. Extended family members and godparents still help with the tab, but some small banks have begun offering special financing for the big day as tradition increasingly meets consumerism.
“It’s getting bigger and bigger,” Juarez said, “with quinceañeras outdoing each other.”
Rachel Gonzalez-Martin, assistant professor of Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies at the University of Texas, is writing a book on the increased commercialization of quinceañeras. She said it reflects not just corporate America’s interest, but also the growing affluence of Hispanic families.
“While it’s still about family honor, it’s not about the girl’s virtue,” she said. “It’s about the family’s socioeconomic success.”
Indeed, while the U.S. Latino population grew 57 percent between 2000 and 2014, research by the Pew Research Center found the community’s purchasing power soared 155 percent, to $1.3 trillion, in the same period. Last year, Pew found, 81 percent of surveyed Hispanic adults said they expected their financial situations to improve in 2017.
“Parents aren’t just buying stuff,” Gonzalez-Martin said. “They’re buying soft skills for upward social class mobility.”
Cost rises
Juana Salsero and her goddaughter, Irayes Romero, were at Juarez’s Quince Expo last month at Ba you City Event Center( moved from its usual NRG Park location because of the Super Bowl).
Romero, who turns 15 in May, browsed through vendor stalls until she spotted a sequined dress styled after the one worn by her favorite Disney princess, Cinderella. She gasped and tea red up, and Salsero, who will buy Romero’s dress, immediately went up to the attendant and sorted out dates for a fitting. Prices weren’t discussed as Salsero put nolimit onthe cost.
“It’s how a young woman is introduced to society,” she said. “You have to make a great first impression.”
The cost of making that impression is rising, on everything from food to outfits to entertainment.
Tomas Benitez has designed quinceañera dresses in Houston for 11 years. His products range in price from $1,500 to $8,000. By keeping abreast of industry trends and using designer brands, he said, Benitez’s business has grown at a steady 15 percent annual rate.
Lorena Lock, who started Million Cakes in Katy 10 years ago, said 60 percent of her business today is focused on designing quinceañera cakes. They can go for $200 to $3,000 apiece.
“People want quality,” Lock said, “not a homemade cake made by a family friend.”
Reception hall owners including Memo Garza of Anais Reception Center, need to be ready to host at most around 700 guests for a party.
Garza hosted 86 parties in 2015 and 100 last year. He’s already booked 42 so far this year. Garza’s prices range from $1,200 to $20,000 depending on whether the family simply wants to rent his venue or have him coordinate the whole shindig.
To keep pace with the competition, Garza said, he expanded his business in 2014 to include on-the-go party rental services catering to cities such as Victoria, Bay City and El Campo.
“The market is flooded,” Garza said.
Business opportunity
Not everyone goes to extremes. Susan Guzman, for example, said while perusing the Quince Expo she will stick to a $5,000 budget for her daughter’s party. But, she added, her sisters dropped $20,000 on parties for their daughters.
Regardless of the price range, quinceañeras represent a growing business. Just last month, Janet Quezada opened a new store, Karla Boutique, with charrodesigned dresses imported from Mexico, where the market is more saturated.
“The Mexican market has already become such a mature industry that it’s hard to enter it as a small-business owner,” Quezada said.
Quezada, whose prices range from $890 to $1,800, said she foresees smaller boutiques popping up in Houston to better cater to a wide range of party budgets.
Juarez said consumers’ demand for better quality, and higher-priced, party supplies seemed to happen almost overnight.
“The changes are happening in leaps and bounds,” he said.
Juarez noted a couple of advantages he has over businesses that cater to the wedding industry. First, there is no peak or slow season for quinceañeras; girls turn 15 all year round. Plus, he added, Latino families’ tendency is to pay for everything up front.
Juarez and others can only see the industry grow from here, simultaneously benefiting and challenging vendors for years to come.
Gonzalez-Martin, the UT professor, said there are other, more subtle advantages to continued growth and expanded exposure of the American quinceañera.
“As the industry grows,” she said, “the cultural presence of American Latinos cannot be ignored.”