Quinceañera Expert Isabella Wall 'A Kind of Ann Landers to Young Latinas'
Julia Alvarez, the New York Times best selling author of "How the Garcia girls lost their accents" and "In time of butterflies", describes Quinceañera expert Isabella Wall as "a kind of Ann Landers to Latinas".
(PRWEB) July 31, 2007 -- In her book ONCE UPON A QUINCEAÑERA: Coming of Age in the USA (in book stores August 2007/Viking) Julia Alvarez, the New York Times best selling author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of Butterflies, describes Quinceañera Expert Isabella Wall as "a kind of Ann Landers to Latinas … passionate and inspirational … doing amazing things for young Hispanic girls. I wish I had Isabella Martinez Wall to talk to back when I was a young teen in need of rescue and an infusion of self esteem."
Fairy Godmother of Quinceañeras
"Both sympathetic and critical, Alvarez doesn't dismiss Quinceañeras as a waste of hard-earned savings or as a mere display of daughters for the marriage market; nor does she endorse it as the essential cultural tradition connecting Latinas to their roots. Instead, Alvarez wants readers to focus on creating positive, meaningful rites of passage for the younger generation," said Publishers Weekly about the author of the book, Julia Alvarez.
Quinceañera is the centuries old celebration of a Latin girl's fifteenth birthday and is quickly becoming an American event. But, according to Isabella, today's Quinceañera is more than just a party, it's a girl of Latin descent between the ages of 14 and 16 who is on her path to young womanhood. "She is as likely to have been born in the United States or be second or third generation Hispanic. She is bilingual. She speaks Spanish at home and is proud of her background, but she speaks English outside the home and talks in "spanglish" to her close friends. She watches MTV, reads TEEN magazine and either owns or has access to a cell phone a computer, an iPod and a digital camera. She also thinks that Hummer limos rock," says Isabella.
The fact is, her parents, although they may be immigrants, consider the USA their home and embrace American culture. With an average household income of about $46,000, they are likely to own their own home. If they are not yet owners, it is their number one priority for the near future. "The quince girl is close to mom and dad and cares very much for her siblings. She looks up to dad, respects him and understands his hard work and sacrifices. Mom is her best friend and role model because she has some level of education and holds an important job in the work place. She likes to study and knows that her parents want an even better education for their children. She appreciates mom's ability to balance family and work and her desire to maintain unity and tradition at home. Family plays a central role in her life. She try's to make them proud. She looks for ways to be helpful around the house. On the weekends, she enjoys movies, music, dancing, surfing the Web and hanging out with her friends -- especially at the mall. SHE LOVES TO SHOP! When she is out, she is always reachable on her cell phone," Isabella adds.
Isabella knows who this girl is because, for the past seven years, she has done extensive research on the subject as the country's leading QUINCEAÑERA EXPERT and the owner of www.BellaQuinceanera.com, an online resource for Quinceañeras and families involved in the celebration. Dubbed "The Fairy Godmother of Quinceañeras" by the Latin media, Isabella has consulted for MTV, TEEN magazine and the Glatzer/Westmoreland feature film, "QUINCEAÑERA," which earned the coveted 2006 Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize. Recently, Isabella provided her expertise to Walt Disney World's "QUINCEAÑERA, A DREAM COME TRUE," the first ever all Spanish language event produced by Disney honoring 15 Quinceañeras from across the United States and Puerto Rico. "The Quinceañera is every parents' pride and joy; a true princess. I have found that she is usually a good student who gets involved with the community and doesn't mind sharing. She loves being a girl. She starts thinking about her Quinceañera and planning it with mom around the age of 10, because it means becoming a grown up," says Wall.
"But, peer pressure can be intense at fifteen and the celebration of this milestone is as important for mom and dad, grandma, grandpa, and the rest of the family as well as the many padrinos and madrinas (God-parents) that participate. The party becomes a sort of vehicle for a special family gathering in her honor. Her parents are proud to save for this big day and expect to spend between $5,000 and $50,000. Fathers spare no expense and often go into debt to ensure that they have encouraged their fifteen-year-old Princess to be a happy and accomplished woman.
Author Julia Alvarez's chapter about Isabella concludes, "… Isabella thinks quinces are so special, the tradition should come out of its ethnic closet and become an American phenomenon." After speaking with Isabella, Alvarez adds, "I feel that uplifted feeling that must be why folks pick up the phone after watching a TV evangelist and put a donation on their charge card".
For information about Isabella Wall go to http://www.IsabellaWall.com
ONCE UPON A QUINCEAÑERA: Coming of Age in the USA By Julia Alvarez
Viking /On-sale date: August 6, 2007
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670038733/ref=pe_pe_5050_6071390_pe_snp_733
###
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/Q291cC1aZXRhLVBpZ2ctU3F1YS1UaGlyLVplcm8=
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Furl It |
Technorati |
Ask |
MyWeb |
Propeller |
Live Bookmarks |
Newsvine |
TailRank |
Reddit |
Slashdot |
Digg |
Stumbleupon |
Google Bookmarks |
Sphere |
Blink It |
Spurl
|
