Galván Twins Grace the Cover of Quinceanera.com’s April 2010 Supplement

Vanessa and Verenice Galván got together to celebrate their quinceañera, an event that spared no expense with 800 guests.

They have been together their entire life. They dress almost the same way and celebrate every moment of their life without coming apart a single inch. They share the same friends and similar interests. They are Vanessa and Verenice Galván, identical twins who decided to celebrate their quinceañera together in order to keep alive a tradition that was born on July 23, 1992, when they came into the world at an L.A. hospital.

The rest of the story is a notable one. The event, which was celebrated at the Saint Francis Cabrini church in Los Angeles, included 800 guests. There were so many that the young girls had to make a call in the middle of the party to request more chairs and tables to accommodate everyone.

Needless to say, the dresses they wore were of the same style and orange tone, they had the same ceremony and dance, and shared an unforgettable experience that couldn’t have turned out better.

“The first thing we did was write down the number of people we could invite so we could plan our budget,” says Vanessa, although her sister affirms that money was not a problem since “many of our relatives helped with the expenses.”

Despite all, they assure that “there were a lot of people and we were a bit frustrated because we didn’t have enough tables. I wanted to hide,” admits Vanessa. “I had to call one of my dad’s friends myself so he could bring more. After that, everything went well and we had a good time. We were able to dance, but with certain hassles.”

Then they chose the type of dance and tone of dress they would wear. “We did everything together and planned it in advance so we would have time,” explains Verenice, the shyer of the two.

The fun came afterward, the party, the dance –a combination of reggaeton and punta, a dance style stemming from Africa with origins in Belize and Honduras- and “the waltz dance with my dad; something that I had been looking forward to since I was 13 and had finally come true,” says Vanessa excitedly.

A few months later, Vanessa and Verenice face a tough reality as they have to come apart for the first time after being together for 17 years. Vanessa wants to pursue a career in aviation after becoming involved in an organization called Young Eagles, which has given her a spot at a center in Texas.

She acquired a certain amount of hours to obtain her license, something she achieved before obtaining a scholarship. That’s not all. She has been interviewed at a television program about her merits as a young Latina in a field that has very few stories like hers.

“I told them that the fact that you’re Latina doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams.”

Verenice will remain in California as a nurse student in the health industry, a choice that benefits her career but takes a toll on her personal life, since she will not see her twin sister for a while. “It’s the first time we come apart. I will miss her because we have always had a great relationship.”

They grew up together, kept away from drugs and bad influences with a cool head and focused on other things, “such as becoming part of groups who feed the homeless in Downtown L.A. and organizing picnics to stay away.”

Verenice has a boyfriend and her mother knows it. “My dream is to get married in a few years and have a family.” With the same guy? “No… [she laughs]… well, I don’t know. I want to finish my career and then we’ll see.”

Vanessa is indecisive when it comes to love. For now, she thinks more about her career than boys.

They can’t possibly have everything identical. They have been mistaken thousands of times and have used all kinds of tricks to wear the same clothes and deceive teachers in school. “Now they know us well and it doesn’t work, but we played a joke on the principal and it worked.”

“Having a twin sister is the best thing that could ever happen to me,” says Vanessa. “It’s always nice to have someone who will be there to support you,” assures her sister.

In the end, the two of them agreed on one thing about their Quinceañera. “It was worth the money because the memories will last in the family forever,” says Verenice. “And I agree,” says Vanessa.

This post is also available in: Spanish