In Mexico, when you turn 15, it's common for your family to throw you a big party, called a quinceañera.

It's a huge milestone to celebrate the end of your childhood.

What's not common is what happened to Irindira Sanchez at her own quinceañera 20 years ago.

My sister was in the training camp for the fall, where my dad worked.

Campo de entrenamiento de paracaidismo is a skydiving training camp.

De pronto, mi papá me preguntó si estaba lista.

Y yo le dije que sí.

Entonces, él comenzó a ponerme el paracaídas encima de mi vestido de fiesta blanco.

Yo estaba muy nerviosa.

Soon Irindira found herself wearing abaracaías or parachute over her white princess dress,

with a crowd of people clapping around her.

It was a surreal experience to be there on that sunny afternoon in Morelos,

a state south of Mexico City where they lived.

Mis recuerdos son como flashes.

El avión se elevó y llegó a 10.000 pies.

Entonces, mi papá y yo saltamos en tandem,

compartiendo el mismo paracaídas.

There's a video of this.

You can see Irindira smiling and moving her arms wildly like a bird,

the wind shaking her dress as if it were made of feathers.

There are mountains and volcanoes in the distance as you see her falling towards Earth.

She remembers that day as a great revelation.

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