City of Diboll becomes self-proclaimed Quinceañera capitol of Texas
DIBOLL, Texas (KTRE) - The City Of Diboll proclaimed themselves the Quinceañera capitol of Texas on Wednesday at the Diboll Civic Center.
“You’re bringing your culture to Diboll, showing everybody else what your culture is, and you get to share it with everybody,” said participant Sarahi Sanchez
A Quinceañera is a milestone celebration in the Hispanic community when a girl turns 15, transitioning from childhood to womanhood.
“Whereas Quinceañera are a vital piece of Diboll’s identity by bringing energy and character with liveliness festivities,” said city mayor Trey Wilkerson as he read off the proclamation.
Wilkerson explained the city wanted to build on an ongoing momentum of Quinceañera events held in the city. They hope the new designation will lead to more people coming to Diboll to celebrate.
Co-owner of JC’s Party Rentals Viry Cruz, said 52% percent of their bookings this year were Quinceañera events held at the Diboll Civic Center. Many of which Cruz explained came from residents from surrounding cities.
Cruz said they selected two Diboll teens as their cover girls to host the city’s first ‘Quince Expo’.
“She wants to expose and let people know, like, look, this is what we do as a culture. This is what we’re supposed to experience,” described Cruz.
Lilliana Jasso says she’s excited to see the expo help families plan for one of their biggest events. “Then people who have Quinceañera that are coming up because they’ll have more options to choose from than we did. We had to travel for our options, like for our dresses,” explained Jasso.
Aryssa Vasquez describes her Quinceañera experience as a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. “Planning and getting everything ready, doing the surprise dance, the waltz. Getting ready for all that, it was pretty fun,” she said.
Diboll’s Festival Committee chairman, Justin Barkley, said they are rebranding as the ‘Quince Fest,’ replacing the city’s annual Tamale Festival that last took place in 2019. “To honor the culture that’s here, the families that have made Diboll home and that have worked here for a lot of years. We’re excited to celebrate that,” said Barkley.
The Quince Expo will be at the Diboll Civic Center on January 14. The Quince Fest is scheduled for May 24.
Lilliana Jasso and Aryssa Vasquez of Diboll are the winners of JC’s Party Rental cover girls for the Quince Expo. Both girls had their Quinceañeras in the last year and wore their dresses once again. In the video below, they expressed their excitement and discussed their journey of party planning.
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