On December 26, fifteen-year-old Rubi Ibarra Garcia got the Quinceañera of a lifetime. It was impossible not notice Rubi in her fuchsia dress and sparkly crown, but her internet invitation really blew things up. A Quinceañera is an extravagant “coming-of-age” party (similar to a Sweet 16) celebrated when a girl turns fifteen. In Latin American traditions, this custom can be referred to as a Quinceaños ( 15 years), Quinces (15), or a Fiesta Rosa (Rose Festival). Rubi’s  father made a video where he announced that there would be a “chiva” (horse race) where the winner would receive 10,000 pesos (490 USD) at  his daughter’s Quinceañera.

Rubi’s father’s translated invitation read: “Good evening. We invite you this 26 of December to the Quinceañera of our daughter Rubi Ibarra Garcia, in the community of La Joya. The groups (bands) Los Cachorros de Juan Villareal, Los Indomables de Cedral and the group Innegable will be performing. During the feast the group Relevo X will be playing and a horse race will be held. I believe the first place winner will receive 10,000 pesos. Second and third winners will also receive a prize. The mass will be held at 1:30 pm at Zaragoza de Solis. You are all formally invited.”

With this video, Rubi’s father accidentally invited the whole world via the internet when he actually only meant to invite the residents of La Joya, San Luis Potosí, (population of  211 residents). However, the video went viral with 1.3 million people making reservations and roughly 40,000 people showed up. When the family realized what had happened, they deleted the video off of Facebook along with the digital invitation. Some people got offended and wanted to start a huge march in order for Rubi’s father to change his mind. More than 20,000 people had confirmed that they would participate in the march. Several famous artists also confirmed that they wanted to go to Rubi’s Quince including El Komander, Larry Hernandez, and also El Dasa who also posted a picture of Rubi’s invitation saying I “already see myself winning the horse-race and dancing with the crowd!”

Tragedy struck soon when Felix Pena crossed one of the racehorse’s path and was run over. Pena had believed that the horses already crossed, so he stepped onto the track and didn’t notice a horse had trailed behind everyone.  Pena turned around and ironically, his own horse slammed right into him at full speed according to witnesses. Pena was taken away in a neck brace and died on the way to the hospital. Another person suffered a broken leg. Since this party went viral, people made a lot of memes which made the Quinceañera  even more popular.

Rubi’s XV dominated news coverage. Rubi was also invited to star in “La Rosa de Guadalupe,” a anthology-novela and one of Televisa’s most popular programs, and reportedly has been offered TV spots, free plane tickets and even a free vacation courtesy of the Mexican governors.

The crowd did cause some chaos, leading to a gas shortage in her city.