la quinceañera de rubí, rubí ibarra’s 15th birthday party in the small town of la joya, matehuala in the state of san luis potosí, mexico, was the viral senasation of december 2016. a local invitation to rubí’s party posted on facebook grew to become a national and even international human interest story/business opportunity.
the invitation to rubi’s quinceañera was only meant for neighboring communities.
english speakers around the world read about the event. in a report from the associated press, the indian website hindustantimes.com said this about the origin of the story
rubi’s bash gained national and international notoriety in early december after a local event photographer posted on his facebook page a video of the girl’s father describing a down-home birthday party complete with food, local bands and horse races.
a bash is a big party. gain in this context means atttract. notoriety is negative fame. down-home means rural.
tostadas charras, one of the sponsors of rubí’s quinceañera, provided rubí masks for everybody. (afp)
rubí’s mother (anaelda garcía) explained that rubí’s father (crescencio ibarra)
had only been referring to everyone in the neighbouring communities, not the world, but by then the video had been picked up dozens of times on youtube and had been seen by millions, sparking tributes by musical stars, jokes and offers of sponsorships by companies.
past perfect, used to describe multiple events in the past, appears three times in this explanation. had been picked up and had been seen are examples of passive voice as well. pick up means redistributed by other channels. spark means provoke. sponsorhsip means companies have paid for services or supplies for rubí’s quinceañera in exchange for publicity.
rafa fernandez de castro‘s article on fusion.com believes the lines between life and the internet got blurred , which is another example of passive voice. blurred means unclear. blurred lines was a gigantic hit for robin thicke, t.i. and pharrell in 2013.
fernandez de castro goes into detail about different groups trying to cash in on the overnight internet phenomenon. cash in means make money from. overnight means instant.
mexican airline interjet was one of the first companies to tap the excitement by announcing a 30% discount on all air travel to san luis potosí for rubi’s party.
tap means exploit. announcing is in the -ing form because it comes after by, a preposition.
the interjet ad for up to 30% off flights to san luis potosí.
the article also talks about a local politician wiggling into the picture by promising the necessary security for the party. wiggle is the movement a worm makes and an important part of this popular lmfao song starting at 2:13.
regrettably, there was a casualty (fatality, death) at rubí’s quinceañera. the australian website news.com.au reported
tragedy has struck at a lavish birthday celebration attended by 10,000 people after a man was killed by a horse. the death occured after an enormous crowd turned out on boxing day to celebrate the 15th birthday of rubi ibarra
struck, the irregular past tense/participle of strike, means happen suddenly or unexpectedly. lavish means expensive, luxurious. was killed is more passive voice. turn out means showed up, went to the party.
boxing day is celebrated in england, australia and some other countries the day after christmas. it is not celebrated in mexico, that was just a coincidence.
rubí dancing the traditional waltz with her pa at her quinceañera (efe)
news.com.au’s brief description of a quinceañera is useful too
girls’ 15th birthday parties are often a huge affair in latin america, when families pull out all the stops to welcome them to womanhood.
pull out all the stops indicates an elaborate event (affair) where the budget (money spent) can end up being quite hefty.
rubí dancing a choreographed number at her quinceañera (afp)
cassandra jaramillo at dallasnews.com elaborated on some of the negatives that came with all of the attention rubi and her famliy received. the headline of jaramillo’s article reads
Why Rubí’s viral quinceañera wasn’t as joyful as you’d think
and this is the first paragraph
it’s safe to say the internet wrecked what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of a 15-year-old latina.
as joyful as compares expectations with reality. it’s safe to say is the opposite of controversial. wreck means ruin. 15-year-old is an adjective phrase, so year is singular, not plural.
a swarm of media, including a drone (ap)
in addition, the article mentions a swarm (big group resembling bees) of journalists following rubí’s father around the entire party and a constant swarm of partygoers trying to take a selfie with the birthday girl. rubí is described as overwhelmed (it was too much) and scared at times by the crowds and shying away from (trying to avoid) the media.
fun esl practice richyrocks english on youtube
on hindustantimes.com, the associated press attributes the coverage of rubí’s quinceañera to
a need for lighter stories in a society weary of violence
and acknowledges the enduring (continuing) infrastructure issues in the region
some locals said they hoped something good could come out of [rubi’s party] for the communities, which have a mezcal distillery but where residents are pleading for cellphone coverage.
weary means tired. plead means to desperately request.
did rubí grow weary of all the media at her party? (ap/enric marti)
what do u think about la quinceañera de rubí? were rubí and her family lucky or unlucky to receive so much attention? share your comments under leave a reply