A survivor of the Uvalde mass shooting is celebrating her quinceañera this year with a special gift from a prominent dress shop.
Miah Cerrillo, a former student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, got her dream dress through a donation from Moda 2000, a popular quinceañera store known for its viral fashion videos on TikTok and YouTube. A quinceañera is an important celebration in Latino culture that takes place at the age of 15 and marks a young girl's transition to womanhood.
"It turned out that she has been watching Moda 2000 since she was little, and she watches all the YouTube videos, so hearing that overall was very exciting to get her in here, because I knew this was, like, such a special moment for her and her family," Gelssy Rodriguez, president of Moda 2000, told ABC News.
Like weddings, quinceañeras can take a year to plan, and in 2024, Miah told her parents she wanted her dress from Moda 2000 -- owned by Gelssy Rodriguez's parents and run by Gelssy and her sister Gipsy Rodriguez. Eager to grant their daughter's wish, the Cerrillos decided to make the trip from Texas to visit the store in Anaheim, California, but they never expected the offer they received.
These sisters used social media to supercharge their parents' small business"After we tried on the dress and everything, Gipsy and her mother came up to us and said they would like to be the 'madrinas' [or godmothers] of the dress, and obviously we started crying, and we were really happy, and we couldn't believe that it was gifted to her," Miah's mother Abigale Veloz told ABC News.
Miah survived the deadly Uvalde mass shooting on May 24, 2022, during which a gunman stormed into her classroom and killed her two teachers and several of her classmates.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the shooting, one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States, and several others were injured.
'Dear Future Survivor': School shooting survivors pen letters to future survivors"The day that the mass shooting happened, I feel like it touched everybody in the nation, and me and Gipsy had like talked about it … we wanted to give back to that community somehow, some way, and I think that the universe aligned itself, and it brought Miah here, because we were finally able to give back to her," Gelssy Rodriguez said.
Miah and her family returned to California this week to try on the dress one last time and take it home. They also took part in a sentimental ritual Moda 2000 has for its customers, which involves parents doing a waltz with their daughters while they wear their dream dresses. The ritual was highly emotional for Miah and her parents, who cried tears of joy during the dance.
"It's a blessing to have her here, so that's why it was emotional for us," Veloz said. "It's kind of like a 'what if' moment -- what if she wasn't here? And thank God she is here, and it's a blessing for us."
Although Gipsy and Gelssy Rodriguez have witnessed countless tearful moments in their store, they said this moment was especially powerful.
"Miah looked extremely thankful for her parents, for bringing her all the way over here from Texas. I know that she appreciates everything that they're doing for her special day," Gipsy Rodriguez told ABC News.
I spent a year covering the Uvalde shooting. Here's what I learned: Reporter's notebookGelssy Rodriguez added, "Up until now, the whole process for Miah has been very like smiles and everything, and we really got to see some raw emotion from her."
Miah chose a lavender ball gown, which she will wear at her quinceañera celebration in November.
"I think it's really special that Miah is choosing to do a quinceañera. I feel like a lot of times people just see it as a big party, and that maybe it could be like, 'Oh, such a waste of money for like, one day,'" Gelssy Rodriguez said. "[But] I think it's important to highlight that a quinceañera brings families together, and it's really a celebration of life."
