BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
It was a year to remember. Martha Banuelos started 2025 as a young girl, but she rang in the New Year as a young woman – a young woman who celebrated her quinceanera in a very unique way. In Hispanic culture, the quinceanera is a celebration marking a girl’s transition from childhood to womanhood. The milestone is marked by a simple or lavish party, rituals, and often, even a Mass. These celebrations usually take place in a venue such as an event hall, but Martha, whose quinceanera was this past August, says she had another venue in mind. “When (my family) went to Mexico the year before my quinceanera, we saw that everyone was doing it outside on the street. Plus, we went to one that they were doing it on the street,” explains Martha, who actually turned 15 last November, but wanted to celebrate in late August because of the favorable weather conditions. “And we liked the idea and we thought we could do it here, do something different.” Martha’s outdoor celebration was different in other ways, too. Instead of having 15 couples involved in the ceremony, she kept the couples group small, with just four of her very best friends and their dates. Her brother Arturo Banuelos played a big role in the event, too. “It was nice being able to have the people that I enjoy being with me and by my side during that day. I had my brother as one of my chambelans (male member of the event’s Court of Honor) with his best friend, that was something I enjoyed that night,” Martha says, “being able to have my brother by my side as well the day of.” The big event took place at 24th Street between Bellevue and Jarboe in the Westside neighborhood, and included a Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine. A nearby business owner allow Martha’s family to use their patio Martha estimated attendance at a whopping 150 people. Martha pointed out her mother, Guadalupe “Lupe” Banuelos, never received an elaborate quincenera celebration in her youth. That made this event all the more special. Lupe, meanwhile, says conditions were near perfect for the party, adding that she is extra thankful for the church’s role in the celebration. “We started off kind of nervous because it was sprinkling in the morning, but as the day went by, it turned out beautiful. The weather was nice,” Lupe says. “We had it at the Our Lady Guadalupe Shrine on Cesar Chavez. Martha wanted it there, but we were also blessed to have Father Anthony from Holy Name, where she went to school for eight years. He’s now at a different church in Topeka. So we were grateful that he came over here to do the Mass for her.” Lupe says she was happy that she could help create such a special event for her daughter. “For us, the most important thing was the blessing at church. All the family went, and most of the guests went to the church as well. And then afterwards, we had dinner and dancing,” Lupe says. “We were there until three in the morning, because by the time we picked up, we were still talking and then the last group was still playing without the speakers on, but they’re playing and just talking about the event -- laughing having fun.” Jose Banuelso say his daughter Martha approached him with the idea of having her quinceanera outdoors just around the corner from their home and she wanted to invite all her neighbors, family and friends, “I wanted her to celebrate her birthday as she wished. I believe my daughter and family and friends will remember this day of her 15th quinceanera for years to come.” Having grown up with the family business in Kansas City Westside neighborhood, Martha has known the value of hard work her entire life. And she says she knows the hard work that went into creating the perfect evening. Lupe says she continues to be proud of her daughter and her dedication to independence. “Her passion in life is that she wants to be a nurse. … She knows she can do it if she wants, that whatever she wants to be she can do it herself,” Lupe says. “By pushing herself and working hard, she’ll value (success) more.” The biggest surprise came when Martha discovered she had been gifted a food truck. Yes, a food truck. Martha says she wants to pay her way through nursing school by selling Mexican-style hot dogs, continuing her family’s proud tradition of entrepreneurship. “I’m thankful that (my parents) were able to give me everything that they gave me, because their parents are not able to afford a quinceanera, or just things like that,” Martha says. “So I am thankful that my parents were able to let me have my quinceanera in the community that I am growing up in. That was a dream come true.”
