Rice senior chosen for 'college-quince', thanks to HACER for Hispanic Heritage Month highlight

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we're focusing on the quinceañera tradition, a birthday rite of passage for 15-year-old girls in the Hispanic community.

Anna Tetrault's recent quinceañera celebration featured the familiar formal dress, food, and cake, but she didn't celebrate it as a 15-year-old.

The celebration came much later for her as a student at Rice University.

"Living in an area where my high school was, I think, maybe 2% Hispanic, it was not something I was super aware of," Tetrault explained.

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The Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice, known as HACER, hosts an annual quince for a deserving student; it's a tradition that paused during COVID but has since returned.

HACER members Zoe Chavez and Valeria Carillo processed applications from deserving students and planned the 'college quince' for Anna to celebrate and share their culture.

"Some of the friends that I told we were going to have a quinceañera, we're planning one, they're like, 'But what's the point now if the transition is usually when you're 15?' But we were like, there are some people that just can't have one at that time," Chavessaid.

Carillo was impressed with a special aspect of Tetrault's application.

"She stressed how much she wanted to connect back to her Mexican roots. And because she didn't have a quinceañera growing up, we felt like it was only right for her to be the one to be chosen," Carillo said.

Tetrault also finds cultural connection through performing with Rice's Mariachi Luna Llena, even at her own quinceañera.

"I'm from Missouri, so not a ton of mariachi opportunities around there."

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Once a girl, now learning who she is as a young woman, because it's never too late to celebrate your 15th birthday.

"Being around people who support me learning about my culture and help me with it is just like a really amazing experience," Tetrault said.

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