Cameras flashed and reporters crowded around 15-year-old Isela Anahí Santiago Morales as she stepped from a vintage car into the pouring rain. The daughter of local garbage collectors, dressed in a voluminous pink gown, looked both overwhelmed and exhausted. Just six weeks earlier, Isela's quinceañera—a traditional coming-of-age celebration in Latin America that marks a girl's 15th birthday—had gone almost unnoticed. Her parents had prepared food and invited friends, but, she recalled, "Some didn't come. My dad said we couldn't let the food go to waste, so he posted on Facebook that we had enough left for 40 people." That simple post transformed her life, reports the AP.
Isela lives with her parents and sister in a modest wooden house in Axtla de Terrazas, a town of about 32,000 in the central state of San Luis Potosi. Her parents earn a living collecting garbage. They had stretched their savings to host a small party on July 9. But when the turnout was scant, the disappointment was sharp. The viral spark came when a local photographer offered a free shoot, followed by DJ and event organizer Jerónimo Rosales, who pledged to provide music. "I've done sound for many quinceañeras," Rosales said, "and what every girl wants is a nice party, that people attend and share with her. It was awful that she was left alone, and I thought, no, I can't let that pass."
The story spread, and donations started to pour in from local businesses and private citizens. The municipal government offered the town's stadium as a venue. By Saturday evening, about 2,000 were pouring in despite torrential downpours that periodically silenced the bands. "At first we imagined something small, maybe 150 or 200 people in a little hall," Rosales said. More than a dozen local music groups performed free of charge on two stages and the state government financed the headline act that played past midnight. Isela, who is visibly uncomfortable in the glare of cameras, asked attendees to donate toys for vulnerable children instead of gifts.
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Still, she received a letter granting her a 969-square-foot plot of land in Axtla. She burst into tears when she realized she now owned property in her hometown. The local government also granted her a scholarship to continue her studies. But Illiana Ortega, a teacher at Isela's former primary school and a close friend, said the attention is welcome only if it endures. "The most important thing is that the party doesn't end tomorrow, that authorities keep supporting her so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher," she said. The marathon party stretched until dawn Sunday. More here.
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