Multi-Cultural Family Blends it All

Ariella Roames blooms with a teenage blend of many cultures.

Her mother, Facely Roames, is an AfroDominican Jewish American woman, U.S. citizen, who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades. She explained, “My identity is layered and richly rooted in Dominican culture, shaped by the Sephardic history of my ancestors, and strengthened by the Jewish life I live and teach every day. I raise my children and my students with the values that guide me: that we can live as one community, with love, respect, and acceptance for all.”

Facely, a religious school educator at Temple Kol Emeth, where she teaches firstgrade Judaics, graduated from the Hebrew College Educator Program’s Bonin Beyachad Fellowship Cohort 2. These values all came alive at her daughter, Ariella’s, quinceañera.

A quinceañera recognizes a girl’s transition to womanhood in Latin American and Hispanic cultures which has Catholic elements and is compared to “Sweet Sixteen’ parties in the U.S. Ariella celebrated her bat mitzvah last year and now serves as a madricha for preschool and kindergarten. This summer, she will be an SIT at Camp Jenny. As a public-school student, she likes crafting, painting, ice skating, swimming, and anime.

Ariella’s quinceañera court was a representational part of the celebration. She was accompanied by friends from Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Catholic families, each parent giving their blessing for their child to participate. What is traditionally a Hispanic celebration became something inclusive and unique. Several loved ones spoke as Ariella was honored by family and friends sharing memories and good wishes for her future.

The menu featured rice, beef, pasta, vegetables, halal chicken, and bread. Ariella wore a standout hotpink and black gown with soft hair curls and pink highlights. She chose these colors because they represent her uniqueness: hot pink for her joy and energy, and black for her strength and elegance.

Mom said, “The butterflies throughout the décor symbolized her transformation: like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, she has grown into something impressive, beautiful, and ready to learn and give.”

The Roames added the Three Roses Ceremony to standard tradition, symbolizing Ariella’s childhood, present, and the woman she is becoming. Ariella recalled, “The room felt like one big family — dancing merengue, bachata, pop, Israeli, and African music.”

Facely concluded, “For me, the quinceañera wasn’t just a birthday celebration. It was a living example of what my Jewish journey has taught me: identity is built through love, community, and the courage to be your true self. I am Dominican, I am Sephardic in my roots, I am Jewish in my soul, and I am raising my children to walk proudly in all parts of who they are.”

By way of background, Facely explained that the Dominican Republic has a deep, but often overlooked, Jewish past. Many early settlers were Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition who lived as conversos — publicly Catholic while quietly preserving Jewish traditions. She didn’t learn this until adulthood, long after beginning her own Jewish journey.

She shared, “When I discovered that my paternal last name, Medrano, is tied to Sephardic lineage, and even saw that small 1 percent in my DNA, I was jumped for joy, it felt like a missing piece of my identity finally clicked into place. When I met my husband and his Jewish family, something inside me recognized home.”

Shabbat candles, Passover seders, and Chanukah songs awakened something familiar in her soul. After the devastating loss of her oldest son, she found comfort only in the Jewish community, kaddish, and music. She said, “I felt as if I was finally at home. That was when I realized I wasn’t becoming Jewish, I was returning to who I had always been.”