Boutique offers cultural, cost-saving options for 'quinceañeras'

Kate Nash | The New Mexican

7/4/2008 - 7/3/08

When her son needed a suit to wear to a family friend's quinceañera, Maribel Acosta got him fitted and then waited days for the outfit to be ready.

Her son wasn't able to try on his suit until just an hour before the event, and it was too big.

The whole situation left Acosta wondering if there wasn't a better way for people who want to celebrate occasions like quinceañeras, a Latin American tradition that honors a girl's passing into womanhood when she turns 15.

In the back of her mind, she vowed she'd like to be the person who helps others plan and prepare for their special day. "I said, 'I need to do something,' " she said. "I had it on my mind."

Two years later, she's sitting at her desk inside M&J Boutique, a business tucked into Days Inn on Cerrillos Road. The walls are lined with party dresses, dolls, pillows, special drinking glasses, fancy knives for cutting cake, earrings. There are bath products, baptism blankets, candles, necklaces. And of course tiaras.

For almost a year, Acosta and her husband, Vicente, have owned the business, helping celebrators connect with their every need. A dress? A band? A limo? Decorations? Cakes? Check, check, check, check and check.

"We saw the need to help people get ready for quinceañeras and weddings," Acosta said. "Many people seemed like they were a bit lost."

Some of the parties they help plan and prepare for have special cultural meanings, like the quinceañera. Because each country in Latin America celebrates differently, Acosta keeps tabs on each country's traditions to help customers, many of whom are immigrants, have as authentic an experience as they can in Santa Fe.

The business isn't just for quinceañeras, however: The family also helps with weddings, baptisms, first communions.

Much of Acosta's work seems like fun, merrymaking. But getting here took perseverance.

Acosta, from the state of Tamaulipas, spoke little English when she arrived 14 years ago. So she took work cleaning rooms at Santa Fe Community College.

Because she had worked in Mexico at a large chain of stores training people in the human resources department, Acosta knew she could do better.

So she studied, taking classes as she could, and cleaning. She got work in an office at the college at one point and continued studying.

She graduated two years ago with an associate's degree in business, something she says has helped her succeed at the boutique. "Everything I learned there, I am applying here," she says as the FedEx man drops in with a package from a tuxedo shop.

While there are a few other shops in town that sell some supplies for traditional events, Acosta believes there's only one like hers. She helps customers plan for quinceañeras a year in advance. She does that in part to get to know who she's working with, but also to allow a family to pay for a celebration — which can cost upward of $8,000 — over a year's time.

Acosta said she also has time to show celebrants how they can save money. "I'm supposed to do business," she said, "but I also want to try to help the community."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog, Green Chile Chatter, at www.santafenewmexican.com.