Quinceañeras At The Capitol Protests Take Aim At Texas' Anti-Immigration Bill

In May, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 (SB4) into law. Since then, activists and politicians have been fighting to dismantle the harmful sanctuaries cities ban before it goes into affect on September 1st.

But next week, more action is being taken — by young Texas women, all ages 15 to 16. These teenagers will be donning bright, sparkly, formal quinceañera gowns to take a stand against the hate being directed their way through this bill.

According to Remezcla, the quinceañera protest is being hosted by Jolt, a non-profit dedicated specifically to giving Latinx people the tools and support that they need to affect change. Naming the protest Quinceañeras At the Capitol, the goal is to raise awareness to the negative effects of SB4.

Jolt's communications director, Tania Mejia, told Remezcla more about the origins of Quinceañeras At the Capitol. "The idea for Quinceañeras at the Capitol came from one of our volunteers. She had been going to the Capitol for rallies and events against SB4 and saw young women taking quinceañera photos at the Capitol," Mejia said. "We thought that this event would be a great way to show people that this is our home, celebrate our culture, and send the message that young Latinas are standing up to the ongoing attacks on our community by our elected officials who work at the Capitol."

The event will officially take place on Wednesday, July 19th. Each of the participants will take turns reciting 15 reasons why they're against SB4. The women will also participate in a choreographed dance, as is a tradition at quinceañeras — however, each of the songs that the young women will be dancing to will all have political messages attached to them.

The participants hope that by acting themselves, other young Latinx people will be inspired to fight against SB4 and other harmful legislation rooted in anti-immigration sentiments.