Charleston Women-Summer 2021

www. Char l es tonWomenPodcas t . com | www. ReadCW. com | www. I ns tagram. com /Char l es tonWomen CW - 37 N ational Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15 to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to American history and culture. Hispanic Americans are proud of their Latin roots and the lives they have built for themselves and their families in the United States. Embracing the new and celebrating the old is a way of life for Latin immigrant communities, but there are certain traditions that are perfect in their original state and can neither be forgotten nor amended. One such tradition is celebrating young womens’ quinceanera — which takes place when a young woman turns fifteen and transitions from childhood to womanhood. Carolina Mascarín moved to Charleston in 2003. She’s originally from Colombia, but has become Charleston’s go-to quinceanera photographer and, therefore, a bit of an expert on the topic of these important celebrations. While quinceanera s are not common in her country of BY I SABEL ALVAREZ ARATA Moving Forward with Traditions Celebrating Quinceaneras Photos by Caro l i na Mas car i n . Commemorat i ng the occas i on i s a spec i a l par t of th i s mi l es tone.