a quincenera (pronounced "kin-sin-yera") is a special celebration help for many girls in Spanish-speaking communities of the United States and in Latin America on their fifteenth birthday. The celebration may be different in different countries. The words quincenera ca n refer to the celebration or to the girl. This birthday is special because it celebrates that a girl is not a child anymore and has become a woman. It is a very important day for many young girls, a day they dream about for a long time. Everyone who knows the girl will celebrate it with a church ceremony and a big party.