A pricey rite of passage: Hispanic coming-of-age parties are more popular--and more expensive--than ever.

THE Hispanic tradition of the quinceanera ceremony fulfills the ultimate female fantasy.

"It's a wedding without the groom," according to Isabella Martinez Wall, chief executive of party planning consultancy Bella Quinceanera in Sherman Oaks.

In Hispanic cultures, the quinceanera marks a girl's 15th birthday. Like the similar coming-of-age Sweet 16 party in the Anglo culture, it historically signified a girl had reached marriage-able age.

"Living in Los Angeles as Latinas, we are so far away from that idea that girls at 15 should start a family. Where I am on this is that the quinceanera is a platform of support for her adulthood," said Martinez Wall, a former Miss Dominican Republic. "The celebration means 'You are our princess, we are going to crown you, and we profess our love and support for you.'"

As an economic reality, the quinceanera market has reached critical mass. The 2000 Census counted 1.5 million Hispanic girls ages 10-14. Looking toward the future, nearly a third (29.4 percent) of Hispanics are under the age of 15, compared to only 21.1 percent in the U.S. population, according to a 2004 Census estimate.

Los Angeles County has 4.6 million Hispanics. the most of any county in the nation. In the Los Angeles DMA (Designated Market Area for advertising media), there are about 190,000 Hispanic female teens between the ages of 12 and 14, according to Census estimates. "Approximately 65 percent to 70 percent of these girls reside in households whose heads of household are foreign born or Spanish dominant, which would be the households that would be most likely to carry on the tradition," said Laura Marella, senior vice-president at Hispanic advertising agency Casanova Pendrill in Costa Mesa.

Texas-based entrepreneur Will Cain launched Quince Girl magazine in March; the second issue hits newsstands August 8. The magazine will produce a Bridal & Quinceanera Expo at the Los Angeles Fairplex in Pomona on November 5. While QuinceGirl.com contains links to advertisers, the site doesn't directly sell fashions or accessories. In contrast, Martinez Wall e-tails those items through her site at Bel5.com.

Martinez Wall also worked as a consultant on the film "Quinceanera," a double award winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Sony Classics Pictures, a division of Culver City-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, will release the film on August 4.

Despite the size and profile of the market, it often exists as a little sister to the bridal market. Customers looking for a dress might have to snoop around the back of a bridal shop to find it, explained Martinez Wall. "But this is a market of its own, and a multimillion dollar market," she maintained.

Hispanic families spend a bundle to make the quinceanera memorable for their little princess. Martinez Wall put the minimum for a do-it-herself quinceanera at $5,000, but for upscale families the price can escalate to the $200,000 to $300,000 range. Quince Girl publisher Cain said the average falls in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, with most higher-end celebrations around $25,000.

The essentials

The major costs include:

* Dress: Typically $500 to $1,000, according to Cain. In addition, the court consists of seven to 15 boys and an equal number of girls. The boys need tuxedos, zoot suits or military cadet uniforms; the girls, matching dresses.

* Venue: Usually a local hotel. If visiting relatives need accommodations, it adds up fast. (Although a Catholic Mass often complements a Mexican quinceanera, the ceremony itself is not religious, either today or historically, said Martinez Wall.)

* Tiara and shoes: These play important roles in what Martinez Wall calls "ceremonies within the ceremony." At one point, the girl's father takes off her shoes and replaces them with ceremonial slippers, just like the Cinderella story. Figure a minimum of $100 for both items.

* Food, beverage, cake: The cake symbolizes the castle in keeping with the Cinderella theme. Total catering costs depend on size of the party.

Optional service providers are photographers, videographers, disc jockeys, mariachis and hair and make-up artists. Further costs come from keepsakes for each guest (costing hundreds of dollars each), a new car for the girl's 15th birthday (even though she can't drive it for a year), a dream vacation for the girl, or airfare to bring in distant family members.

"The unfortunate thing is that a family would represent this coming-of-age as a support system that would raise the girl's expectations so high that life could never match it, even on her wedding day," Martinez Wall lamented.

Immigrant groups such as Hispanics inevitably alter or discard some of their traditions over time, but as a Hispanic version of general-market celebrations, the quinceanera has plenty of support for its continuance. Martinez Wall even sees the tradition spreading beyond Hispanic youth to the general market.

For retailers already in the bridal or prom markets, the jump to quinceaneras seems natural. But other companies also want to join the party. For example the initial advertisers in Quince Girl included Skechers USA Inc., the Manhattan Beach-based shoe manufacturer.

"Astute retailers offer traditional dresses and quince parties as sweepstake prizes or components," said Marella at Casanova Pendrill. "Quince related or themed marketing efforts are very common for marketers who target the Hispanic market, particularly those products vying for teen females."