Super Sweet: Teen hopes MTV can give her the party she never had

DeKALB - Crissy Torres, 15, laughed as she described growing up in a two-bedroom apartment she shared with her mother, Madeline Velez, and her grandmother Flora Juanez. &#8220We only had two rooms,” Torres said. &#8220I either shared a room with my mom or my grandmother. That's how I lived my whole life.” The three spent years moving from apartment to apartment because they could not always afford rent. Torres never had a birthday party because usually her family couldn't afford more than a cake from Wal-Mart. Then she discovered an opportunity to have the birthday party of her dreams. The MTV reality show &#8220My Super Sweet 16,” about privileged girls whose parents have the means to throw them elaborate and expensive parties for their 16th birthday, held a contest to give away a dream &#8220sweet 16” party. Torres submitted an application in May, and out of 6,000 applicants, she became one of five finalists. Torres turns 16 on Sept. 16. Sitting at a glass dining table in her soon-to-be stepfather's DeKalb house, Torres talked lightheartedly about the cramped living situations she endured until a year ago, when she and her mother moved in with Velez's fiancé, Keith Wassel. &#8220I never had an actual birthday party with all my friends together,” she said. &#8220My family lives far away from here and everyone is scattered around. No one can drive two hours away or more to come visit me, so that's always been it.” Torres also missed out on her quinceañera, a traditional Hispanic ceremony for a girl's 15th birthday. During the elaborate ritual, a girl's parents change her flat shoes for high heels to signify the girl's coming into adult life. Torres had dreamed about the ceremony from a young age, and made plans for what she wanted in the hope that it would happen. &#8220Usually you have eight girls and guys and they do a ballroom dance, and other dances, but that meant so much to me because a quinceañera for a Hispanic means turning into a woman,” Torres said. &#8220I kept making plans for when I would turn 15, and when I did, my mom said she was sorry because we couldn't do it.” In applying for the contest, Torres said, she had to explain why she deserves the type of extravagant birthday party depicted in the show. She described how her mother used to work three jobs to support their family and how Torres often wore clothing handed down to her from her cousins. At times, her family had to use an Illinois LINK card, part of an electronic food stamp system, to purchase food when they had no money. &#8220It drove us apart at times,” Torres said. &#8220Sometimes everyone was like, ‘I want this, yeah, but I want that.' But we couldn't get it. We'd always get into arguments.” Torres' birth father left her and Velez when she was a baby. While Torres has tried to reconcile with him before, it has not lasted. &#8220We don't have that kind of relationship,” Torres said. &#8220The honest and trustworthy thing doesn't work out. It's off and on.” For her application, Torres designed a Hollywood-themed party, which she would enter on a sleek motorcycle. The party would include celebrity impersonators and paparazzi-style photographers who would take pictures of people leaving the party, who could keep them as souvenirs. Torres hopes the party can bring her extended family together. &#8220I have family in Puerto Rico, New York, south of Chicago, Wisconsin,” Torres said. &#8220I know if I had this they would all come together - maybe something might change their minds and they'd visit more.” After first hearing about Torres' entry for the show, Wassel was not sure whether it was possible for her to win. Then MTV called to set a time for a camera crew to come to DeKalb to film spots for upcoming shows. &#8220We didn't think much of it at first,” Wassel said. &#8220Then they told us they wanted to come to our house. They filmed here for two days, and then later sent her out to New York.” For Torres to win the party on the show, people must vote for her on the show's Web site. Torres printed hundreds of fliers to win people's votes and has handed them out throughout the DeKalb area and around Chicago's Navy Pier. Throughout her tribulations, Torres has kept her spirits up by being active in extracurricular activities in school and through singing. MTV may be just the start of Torres' reality TV career, Wassel said. &#8220We had a feeling something will happen with her,” Wassel said. &#8220She's an incredible singer. We always joked about her trying out for ‘American Idol.'” Benji Feldheim can be reached at bfeldheim@daily-chronicle.com.