SWEET 15 THE LATINO QUINCEANERA BRINGS A GIRL INTO WOMANHOOD IN HIGH STYLE.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

A year of planning went into Wendy Saucedo's quinceanera, celebrated last weekend in San Fernando.

But really it began 25 years ago as an ache in her mother's heart when she passed her 15th birthday in a small Mexican village in Michoacan without so much as a hug or a kiss.

``No one remembered it was my birthday,'' Adela Saucedo says in Spanish.

In Latin America, a quinceanera is kind of a debut and a bat mitzvah rolled into one, with a candy-coated sprinkle of sweet 16 here in the U.S. So for several precious hours that she will treasure for her whole life, a 15-year-old is at the center of attention as she marks the passage of girlhood and welcomes her adult responsibilities.

But the celebration of a quinceanera (pronounced KEEN-sin-era, which in Spanish is derived from 15 years) is not just about a girl. And it doesn't just take place south of the border.

Today this all-day affair that, in most cases, starts with a special Mass and ends with dinner and a party is a $240 million-a-year industry in the U.S.

``Whether they're Hispanic or not, more and more people have heard of a quinceanera,'' says Will Cain, publisher of Quince Girl, a new annual national magazine for girls who are planning a quinceanera.

He attributes this new level of consciousness to the booming Latino population and the success of MTV's ``My Super Sweet 16,'' which spotlights the biggest, splashiest coming-of-age celebrations while skimping on tradition. And now ``Quinceanera'' the movie, opening Friday, will highlight the planning of the cultural tradition.

``A lot of times one of the easiest things to give attention to is the lavish ceremony because it's a chance for all of us to go, `Wow, look what I didn't have,''' Cain says. ``Helping these families understand what's involved in a quinceanera and the significance behind it is an important role that we're taking on so that those aspects of it need not be lost.''

Quince Girl isn't alone. Manuel Villalobos runs a bilingual program out of Mary Immaculate Catholic Church to teach girls about their newfound responsibilities in the faith.

``We talk a lot about self-esteem and how as young women they need to start thinking about their future,'' says Villalobos, who saw his own daughter go from a reckless teen to a responsible young woman following her quinceanera.

That was five years ago.

Wendy went through the same program. She says that while many people change, she doesn't think she has. ``I just feel like I have more responsibilities now, like, to help my mom around the house,'' she says. ``I know I'm not a little girl anymore.''

In addition to church-

run programs, Web sites, expos and stores galore have popped up to help the estimated 400,000 U.S. Latinas who turn 15 each year plan their quinceaneras, should they decide to have one.

Not everyone does.

Wendy didn't think her family could afford the expense that goes into a quinceanera, which costs an average of $5,000. So her mother took a manual-

labor job at a restaurant to help out.

Adela Saucedo never had a quinceanera, but on this Saturday, on her stretch of San Fernando near the 118 Freeway, her eldest child will not go through life without those memories.

``I wanted to give her the quinceanera that I never had.''

Floating across the asphalt driveway in a pink strapless ball gown that she bought at the San Fernando Mall, Wendy looks like she just stepped out of a fairy tale. She spent the morning getting her hair and makeup done before being whisked off to church for Mass in a rented stretch Hummer with her 13 friends who will attend her as damas and chambelanes.

The six damas in pink formal gowns and the six chambelanes in black tuxedos, pink ties and black hats are now watching as Wendy practices the traditional choreographed waltz. She and her friends spent months learning the steps from a video. Wendy will take the floor with 15-year-old Adrian Sanchez, her own chambelane dressed in white.

``You're supposed to find a special guy that won't let you down,'' Wendy says of her best friend. ``A lot of girls get their boyfriends to be their chambelanes without their moms knowing it. I think that's bad luck.

``What if you break up? He'll be on the videotape forever.''

While Wendy is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, her mother is still setting up. She has spent the last two days hanging pink ribbon bows strung together like garlands from the eaves, tying down an arch of pink and silver balloons and setting row upon row of banquet tables with doll centerpieces.

The main table is set with a quinceanera doll dressed in a replica of her ball gown, symbolizing the last doll of her childhood.

Wendy's 80 guests -- family, friends and schoolmates -- are starting to arrive, and Adela needs to get dressed for dinner.

As her mother climbs the stairs to the second-story apartment, the outdoor party is just getting started. The DJ is playing banda, something about a girl turning 15. He'll be spinning regional, hip-hop and reggaeton until after midnight.

Wendy doesn't know how much money was spent in the end but says her dress and accessories -- tiara, scepter and knife with which to cut her multitiered cake -- cost more than $1,000. Her family got some financial backing from relatives, as is customary in some cultures, but it wasn't enough to cover the invitations, caterer, videographer and party rentals.

All that fell to her parents.

Sylvia Solheim, who runs quinceanera-boutique.com, says how families choose to celebrate a quinceanera shouldn't matter.

``It can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want,'' she says. ``The important thing is that it's a family affair.''

Nobody understands that better than Adela Saucedo.

``My 15th birthday will always be a bad memory for me,'' she says. ``But Wendy's will be a beautiful one of her in her beautiful dress with all of her friends. She looked so happy.''

``I have some really nice memories of that night,'' Wendy says. ``I'm going to remember it always.''

Sandra Barrera [phone]

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Quinceanera comes of age

Latino tradition grows in popularity

(2 -- 3 -- color) For her quinceanera, Wendy Saucedo, center, has the traditional court of damas (maids of honor) and chambelanes (escorts) and her own chambelane, Adrian Sanchez, 15, of Pacoima. Below, in the movie ``Quinceanera,'' opening Friday, a similar scene takes place.

(4 -- color) Wendy receives her quinceanera doll -- her last doll -- symbolizing leaving childhood, at her quinceanera celebration in San Fernando.

(5 -- color) Wendy wears a ring with the number 15 in its design, a tradition for girls at their quinceaneras.

Box:

(1) QUINCE GIRL BRIDAL & QUINCEANERA EXPO

(2) THE TRADITIONS

Source: Quince Girl