A huge crowd turned out on Monday to celebrate the 15th birthday of Rubi Ibarra, a small-town Mexican girl — though it was fewer than the 1.3mn people who said they were coming after the invitation went viral online.
Girls’ 15th birthday parties are often a huge affair in Latin America, when families pull out all the stops to welcome them to womanhood. But Rubi’s “quinceanera” party took the phenomenon to a whole new level, after the invite became an offbeat internet sensation.
“We found out through social media and we said ‘Let’s go. Everyone is invited? Let’s go,” said Tania Rodriguez, who travelled five hours by car to attend the party held in a large field in Villa de Guadalupe, in San Luis Potosi state.
About 10,000 partygoers of all ages came to see Rubi, who danced the night away in a bejewelled floral princess gown with a dramatic red skirt.
The teen was the centre of attention on a rock concert-style stage set up in the field, as journalists jostled to capture her every move. The evening featured fireworks, a banquet sponsored by a food company and a concert broadcast on a giant screen. Rubi danced with friends, as well as the men of her family, receiving a rose from each, in keeping with tradition.
“Hi, how’s it going? We would like to invite you this December 26 to our daughter Rubi Ibarra Garcia’s 15th birthday party in La Joya,” her dad, Crescencio, said in the video invitation that went viral.
Dressed in a cowboy hat typical of northern Mexico, he ticked off the names of the bands that would play at the party and announced a horse race with a 10,000-peso prize (about $500), as his wife and the now-famous Rubi stood at his side. “Everyone” is invited, he said.