REFLECTIONS : Quinceañera
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
How excited we were when we got an invitation to attend a quinceañera . A great-niece was being introduced to outside society as she marked her fifteenth quinceaños ( birthday ). This joyous occasion is a remnant of Spanish social culture , which has made its way down to modern times .
A celebration of youth and family , it brings close relatives and friends together to dwell on their kinships and keep abreast of the present .
This one did not disappoint . Opening church services to thank God for all blessings gave a glimpse of the attendees , old and new , from far and near .
Reunions and reintroductions soon followed . The catching up on successes , and losses of loved ones , lasted all day long . Similarities , characteristics and kinship were the order of the day . The virtues of fidelity , courage , bravery and enterprise were extolled for the sake of the younger generation , reassuring them that they had it in their
“ blood ” to attain the same .
At the dinner feast and grand ball of the evening , everyone dressed in their best , ate and danced the night away . Accompanied by props like clouds at one ’ s feet , robots enlivening the place with tumbling lights and indoor fireworks displays , one forgot the cares of the present .
Many cultures , primitive or modern , still continue , albeit in modified form , to pass on knowledge , values and customs from generation to generation , their own quinceañeras . With quiet respect , the ceremonies surrounding the passing of England ’ s Queen Elizabeth II exemplify this .
In retrospect , do the present and future generations need the wisdom and ways of the past ? Will modern technology take over our ways of thinking and make us a homogeneous horde ? Will a text convey our feelings of gentleness and love ? And honor ?
Do we trust that without any laws and traditions to emulate , without cumbersome emotional attachments to the past , our highly intelligent , widely informed , energetic populace can forge our way to a happy future ?
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist . October 2022 33