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Lucero initially felt reluctant to ask her parents for the party, calling it "a big waste of money on just one day."

Contemporary quinceañeras do tend to have a hefty price tag. Event planners, bakers and caterers, hair stylists, makeup artists and D.J.s have all become part of what will soon be a multibillion-dollar industry, said María Bejarano, director of Quinceañera Magazine, a trade publication. "When you put the numbers together, it's stratospheric," Ms. Bejarano said. "The quinceañera business is a monster that keeps on growing."

The celebration has spawned specialized retailers, fashion expos, even a reality show, "Quiero Mis Quinces," promoting custom parties. Disney's "Frozen" was among the most popular themes last year, according to quinceañera store owners.

Many girls are incorporating decidedly secular and non-Latino elements. They choreograph their traditional dance routines to mainstream pop music instead of waltzes. Lucero opened the dance floor to a Beyoncé mix.

In 2013, Disney introduced a line of princess-inspired quinceañera dresses, retailing for $300 to $900, and its theme parks offer catered events like the Belle of the Ball package, which starts at $20,000. For an additional $2,500, quinceañeras can make royal entrances in Cinderella-themed horse-drawn carriages.

In New York, a quinceañera celebration averages around $10,000, according to Alfonso Caviedes, who owns Fantasy, a special-events dress shop in Jackson Heights, Queens. He offers a layaway system on dresses, which on average cost $600. "Some families cannot afford to pay for the dresses up front," Mr. Caviedes said.

Rosa Jimenez, who owns Bridal by Rosa's in East Harlem, puts the typical cost even higher. "I would recommend that families set aside at least $15,000," she said. "It's like a wedding."

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The Quinceañera, a Rite of Passage in Transition (Published 2016)

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Lucero initially felt reluctant to ask her parents for the party, calling it "a big waste of money on just one day." Contemporary quinceañeras do tend to have a hefty price tag. Event planners, bakers and caterers, hair stylists, makeup artists and D.J.s have all become part of what will soon be a multibillion-dollar industry, said María Bejarano, director of Quinceañera Magazine, a trade publication.

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Under most laws, young people are recognized as adults at age 18. But emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don't reach full maturity until the age 25. Guest host Tony Cox discusses the research and its implications with Sandra Aamodt, neuroscientist and co-author of the book Welcome to Your Child's Brain.

TONY COX, HOST:

I'm Tony Cox and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away. We'd like to spend this part of the program talking about the passage from childhood to adulthood and how that may be tougher for one distinct group of young people.

Most of the privileges and responsibilities of adulthood are legally granted by the age of 18. That's when you can vote, enlist in the military, move out on your own, but is that the true age of maturity? A growing body of science says, no. That critical parts of the brain involved in decision-making are not fully developed until years later at age 25 or so.

In a moment, we'll hear about how child advocates are hoping to use this research to change the laws about their foster care. But first, to learn more about adolescent brain development and maturity, we are joined now by neuroscientist, Sandra Aamodt. She is the coauthor of the book, "Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College."

Sandra, welcome to the program. It's nice to have you.

DR. SANDRA AAMODT: It's nice to be here.

COX: Is this idea that the brains of 18 year olds aren't fully developed a matter of settled science?

AAMODT: Yes. The car rental companies got to it first, but neuroscientists have caught up and brain scans show clearly that the brain is not fully finished developing until about age 25.

COX: To not be too clinical in the spin that we put on this, what parts of the brain are we talking about and what changes happen between the ages of 18 and, let's say, 25?

AAMODT: So the changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That's the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal.

And the other part of the brain that is different in adolescence is that the brain's reward system becomes highly active right around the time of puberty and then gradually goes back to an adult level, which it reaches around age 25 and that makes adolescents and young adults more interested in entering uncertain situations to seek out and try to find whether there might be a possibility of gaining something from those situations.

COX: So this is important. Are the physiological changes in the brain, in terms of the development of young people, as significant and impactful as the cultural changes and environmental changes that they go through vis-a-vis peer pressure things of that sort?

AAMODT: Well, actually, one of the side effects of these changes in the reward system is that adolescents and young adults become much more sensitive to peer pressure than they were earlier or will be as adults.

So, for instance, a 20 year old is 50 percent more likely to do something risky if two friends are watching than if he's alone.

COX: Is there a difference between males and females with regard to their brain development, particularly in this age category?

AAMODT: Females' brains develop about on average two years earlier than male brains, so you're more likely to have a late developing male brain than female.

COX: So when females say they're smarter than guys, it really is true?

AAMODT: Especially around about the age of 15 or so. Yes.

COX: What does this mean? In a minute, we're going to be hearing from some advocates who think that the foster care system needs to be changed, in that in some states, when you reach the age of 18, you are booted out of foster care and their argument is based on some of the research that you are now citing that these young people are not really ready for the adult world.

What is the impact for someone who lives in a foster care kind of setting as far as their brain development is concerned?

AAMODT: One of the things that deprived childhood causes is problems with prefrontal cortex function, so somebody who has had an unstable home life is more likely to have trouble with planning and organizing behavior and with inhabiting impulses than somebody who has had a stable life.

COX: Would you say, based on the research that you are now citing, that it would make more sense to have the legal age become 25 instead of 18 or 21 in some cases?

AAMODT: I think it makes sense to have different ages for different functions. Obviously some 18 year olds are competent to go out into the world and handle things by themselves and some of them aren't. It would be nice if we had a little more flexibility to distinguish the two in the legal system.

COX: Final thing is, if these age limits are not adjusted to take into account the effect that the research has shown, what is the price - if I can put it that way - that society will end up paying down the road? I know that's a pretty large question. But another way of saying it is how important is it for us to address this and do something about it now?

AAMODT: Many of the costs of adolescents are actually - what we think of as the costs of adolescence, the risks of crime and car accidents and all the crazy things that adolescents do are actually more issues with young adults, people in the 18 to 25 age range, largely because they have more opportunities to get into these kinds of trouble because they have less parental supervision than the younger adolescents do.

COX: Sandra Aamodt is a neuroscientist and the co-author of "Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College." She joined us from Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, California.

Sandra, thank you very much.

AAMODT: Thank you.

Copyright © 2011 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years

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Under most laws, young people are recognized as adults at age 18. But emerging science about brain development suggests that most people don't reach full maturity until the age 25. Guest host Tony Cox discusses the research and its implications with Sandra Aamodt, neuroscientist and co-author of the book Welcome to Your Child's Brain.

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In the NPR interview completed by Tony Cox titled "Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years" Sandra Aamodt, a neuroscientist, argues that a person is not an adult at the age of 18, but instead reaches adulhood after 25 when their brain is fully developed.

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"So the changes that happen between 18 and 25 are a continuation of the process that starts around puberty, and 18 year olds are about halfway through that process. Their prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed. That's the part of the brain that helps you to inhibit impulses and to plan and organize your behavior to reach a goal" (Aamodt).

"for instance, a 20 year old is 50 percent more likely to do something risky if two friends are watching than if he's alone" (Aamodt).

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My thoughts on this article are that I agree because I feel that 18 year olds can act pretty immature for adults and this article explains why that is.

This articles links to an example from the book The Diary of a  Part-Time Indian that we read before because Junior talked about teenagers that were older than him (18+) were still pretty imature because of them bullying him.

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In the article 'The Quinceanera, a Rite of Passage in Transition' (Published in 2016) written by Marybel Gonzalez, talks about the significance of a Quinceanera and what it means to Hispanic girls throughout the world (Gonzalez specifically talked about the Mexican kind of Quinceanera).

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* On the second Monday of January, a bizarre rite of passage for newly classed adults that have turned 20 in the last year takes place.
* I n Japan, 20 is the legal age for drinking, smoking, and voting.
* Since most attendants are drinking for the first time, the event gets pretty rowdy.

LONDON - Every year, on the second Monday of January, young Japanese men and women don colorful kimonos and hakama to take part in "Seijin no Hi," or " Coming of Age Day," celebrations.

The event is a rite of passage for newly-classed adults that have turned 20 in the last year. In Japan, 20 is the legal age for drinking, smoking, and voting.

The get-ups are fabulous - reminiscent of Royal Ascot attire in Britain, including the iconically voluminous women's hats.

With attendants drinking legally for the first time, Coming of Age Day is normally a pretty raucous affair - police scuffled with revelers in Okinawa this year .

Scroll down for a rare look into one of Japan's most garish festivals.

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Step inside the bizarre Japanese 'Coming of Age' ceremony - featuring lots of booze and Mickey Mouse

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On the second Monday of January, a bizarre rite of passage for newly classed adults that have turned 20 in the last year takes place.* I n Japan, 20 is the legal age for drinking, smoking, and voting.* Since most attendants are drinking for the first time, the event gets pretty rowdy.

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In the Step inside the bizarre Japanese 'Coming of Age' ceremony - featuring lots of booze and Mickey Mouse (Published in 2017) written by Tom Murray, talks about the significance of a Coming of Age Day Ceremony and what it means to Japanese men and women who are turning 20.

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"Widely celebrated among Latinos, the quinceañera marks an important milestone in a girl’s life. Part birthday party, part rite of passage, it symbolizes a girl’s entrance into womanhood when turning 15, traditionally showcasing her purity and readiness for marriage." (Gonzalez)

"Mr. Cedillo knelt before his daughter with a silk pillow holding sparkling silver shoes. Lucero lifted her ball gown just enough to let her feet emerge from the layers of fabric. He removed her flats, swapping them for the four-inch heels. The moment, a traditional part of the quinceañera, is supposed to be the first time a young girl wears high heels and dances with a man." (Gonzalez)

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My thoughts on this article are that I agree with the author about the significance of a quinceanera.

This article links to an example from the book The Diary of a Part-Time Indian that we read earlier in the year because Junior talked about an outfit that was used for a coming of age ceremony for a girl in his tribe when a man came to see his mom to ask her about (when the piece of clothing actually belonged to another tribe).

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"The event is a rite of passage for newly-classed adults that have turned 20 in the last year. In Japan, 20 is the legal age for drinking, smoking, and voting." (Murray)

"Young Japanese man and woman, who'll be 20 years old this year, are all dressed in Japanese kimono and dance with Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and other Disney characters on stage during a coming-of-age ceremony at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, near Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017." AP Photo / Koji Sasahara

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My thoughts on this article are that I agree because of the meaning of the Coming of Age Day Ceremony.

This article links to the book The Diary of a Part-Time Indian that we read earlier in the year because Junior talked about how the Native Americans celebrated at fairs and a lot of the time, they were drinking.