The celebration of a fifteenth birthday is a very common tradition in Brazil and other Latin American countries. In Brazil, it became popular under the name “debutante,” with roots in 19th-century Europe, when families would formally introduce their daughters to society. However, the origins of the fifteen-year-old rite go back much further — to the Aztec civilization and other Indigenous peoples, who held various ceremonies to mark the passage between life stages. The quinceañera, of Aztec origin, symbolizes the transition from girlhood to womanhood, a moment when the girl was formally introduced to the community. A striking ritual in this celebration is when the girl changes from flat shoes to high heels before dancing with her father — a gesture representing readiness, maturity, and transformation. It’s an emotional passage for both father and daughter — and for the entire family.
 
Just like the Aztecs and other Indigenous peoples, we’ve always sought to celebrate the milestones in our firm’s journey.
 
Today, August 2, 2025, is our moment to change our shoes. And we’ll do it in style!
 
Candido Martins Cukier turns 15. And just like in that ancient ritual, we are not only celebrating the passage of time, but also the journey we’ve built — and the future we’ve chosen to pursue.
 
We’ve been through early childhood, preschool years, middle childhood, and now we’ve reached adolescence. At this moment — as in the Aztec tradition — we’re being introduced to the community as an “adult.”
 
From the beginning, what truly defines Candido Martins Cukier is our people. Our team has grown, strengthened, and reinvented itself. We’re proud of the culture we’ve built: collaborative, committed to technical excellence, but also to empathy, active listening, and an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2024 and 2025, we redefined the firm, promoted and welcomed new partners, moved to a new headquarters, updated our identity, and embraced a new chapter. We are ready to change our shoes and dance with the grown-ups. We’ve always played in the same league as the big firms — and now we have the muscle to face them on equal footing. We will be the star of the debutante, the quinceañera celebration.
 
To our clients, partners, team, and to everyone who is — or has been — part of our journey, we offer our deepest gratitude: each of you is part of this story. You trusted us, challenged our limits, and walked alongside us. It’s an honor to grow with you.
 
And what about the future? It has already begun. The coming years will be marked by innovation, expansion, and even greater impact. We remain committed to our mission: to turn complexity into clarity, with strategy, proximity, and excellence.
 
I’d like to highlight a quote from the last book we read in the firm’s Book Club, What You Are Looking For is in the Library, by Michiko Aoyama: “Life is always a great adventure! No matter what situation you’re in, things never go as expected.”
 
These 15 years have been full of adventure, and not everything went as planned. But we kept our feet on the ground — and now we move forward, our heads held high, in high heels, ready to keep writing our success stories — together.
 
By Henrique Martins, Founding Partner at Candido Martins Cukier