A teenage tradition: quinceaera celebrations in Cuba in pictures | World news

The quinceanera, the 15th birthday rite of passage into womanhood, is widely celebrated in Latino culture. The ostentatious display of wealth at these events is important, even in communist Cuba. The photographer Diana Markosian has documented the tradition in her Over the Rainbow project, which has been awarded the third Elliott Erwitt Havana Club 7

A teenage tradition: quinceañera celebrations in Cuba – in pictures

The quinceañera, the 15th birthday rite of passage into womanhood, is widely celebrated in Latino culture. The ostentatious display of wealth at these events is important, even in communist Cuba. The photographer Diana Markosian has documented the tradition in her Over the Rainbow project, which has been awarded the third Elliott Erwitt Havana Club 7 Fellowship. It will be on display at Paris Photo in the Grand Palais from 8-11 November

Diana Markosian/Magnum Photos

Main image: Pura in her princess-like quinceañera outfit

Fri 12 Oct 2018 06.06 EDT Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 10.31 EDT

  • Teens gather in the courtyard of a church as they prepare for their friend’s quinceañera festivities

  • Amanda Beatriz Llanes Cruz, 15, poses for a portrait at Estudio Mayer, a family-run quinceañera salon in Havana, Cuba. Traditionally, quinceañera photos feature girls in large dresses and crowns, but at many studios in the city there are now also punk-rock style sneakers and miniskirts among the rows of high heels and gowns

  • A girl steps on to the seat of a vintage Chevrolet after she has been paraded around town

  • A girl rides around her neighbourhood in a pink 1950s convertible as her community gathers to celebrate her 15th birthday

  • Yuliett Abreu Rodriguez, 15, poses for a portrait in a traditional dress at Estudio Mayer. Along with a more traditional dress, Yuliett posed in a modern outfit to embrace her transition to womanhood

  • After getting hair and makeup done, Pura sits on her bed in a princess-like quinceañera outfit

  • Friends and relatives dance at a quinceañera celebration held on the roof of a house. Such parties are usually a great expense to the family, who normally save for year to be able to afford the festivity

  • Pura stands on her street a few days after her quinceañera

  • Girls stand outside their friend’s quinceañera venue as they wait for their big entrance

  • One of the first portraits made at Estudio Mayer. The studio opened in the early 90s and its portraiture style has evolved in the intervening decades. In the past, a girl would parade around the city, wearing an 18th-century-style dress known as traje colonial.All photographs courtesy of the Elliott Erwitt Havana Club 7 Fellowship
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