Thousands Pulled Up to This Girl’s Quince After Her Empty First Party Went Viral
Isela Anahí Santiago Morales celebrated a quinceañera in her hometown Axtla de Terrazas, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. It was her second celebration after people didn’t show up to her first quinceañera hosted by her family. One viral social media post led to a massive community-organized party to celebrate the quinceañera. Despite the rain, everyone showed up that night to shower Santiago with love and celebration.
A quinceañera celebrated with thousands for her special day
Isela Anahí Santiago Morales celebrated her quinceañera, an important cultural milestone, a second time with thousands of new friends. Her parents, who work as garbage collectors, originally put together a party to celebrate her 15th birthday. They made food and invited friends to come to the party, but a lot of people didn’t come. Not wanting food to go to waste, Santiago’s father posted that there was food for about 40 people.
The social media post went viral, and people across the community wanted to make it up to her. It started with a photographer volunteering to take photos, followed by Jerónimo Rosales, a DJ and the event organizer offering to provide music for a party. The post kept going viral, and the town offered the local stadium as a venue for the makeup quinceañera.
The party became national news, inspiring people and businesses to make donations to create the best party possible. On the day of the party, around 2,000 people made their way to Axtla de Terrazas to celebrate Santiago’s quinceañera.
Almost a dozen bands performed live music all night from two stages at the venue. The party ended up going all night long and is definitely a quinceañera to remember.
She asked for people to donate toys
Instead of gifts, Santiago asked people to donate toys to underprivileged children. While many of the guests did, some wanted to give the 15-year-old gifts for her future. According to The Associated Press, one guest gifted Santiago a 90-square-meter plot of land in Axtla de Terrazas. It is reported that she cried when she saw that she was now a landowner in her hometown.
The local government gave Santiago a scholarship to help her continue her studies.
The size of the party was more than anyone was expecting. When Rosales first started to plan the event, he wasn’t expecting hosting thousands of guests for a quinceañera.
“At first we imagined something small, maybe 150 or 200 people in a little hall,” Rosales told The Associated Press. “Never did we think it would turn into what it is now.”
This is the second girl who had thousands of people attend their quinceañera in San Luis Potosí. In 2016, Rubí Ibarra went viral for the video announcing her quinceañera when her father invited “everyone.” Soon, millions of people had RSVP’d to the event and thousands of people showed up to party with Ibarra and her family.
Additionally, in 2023, a Veracruz quinceañera posted about their empty party, and strangers came together. The post went viral and brought people to the party, completely turning the night around.
