Forsyth Technical Community College
Global Activities
Brief background information related to this phase of the program.
One large part of the program involves direct participation in "global activities". With the pandemic vitally impacting our everyday lives, those in this phase of the program had to get creative with their selections. Because "in-person" events were at significantly high risk to our health and well-being, alternative options were explored including virtual and internet events, along with documentaries and films related to the subject matter. When conditions were safer (i.e. outside events) we were able to participate in a limited capacity and often inside our vehicles to provide an added measure of safety. Masks and social distancing mandates were observed at all times as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The global events that follow represent diverse, alternative events in which I was able to participate.
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Interestingly enough, I found through this process that in our high tech world one is able to learn a tremendous amount in this area if you just know where to look, and you have the desire to broaden your mindset and perspective on the world. It was certainly effective for me under these extreme circumstances. I was very satisfied with how it opened my mind to new ways of seeing our world and how its citizens are affected in different ways.
Chinese Luncheon
February, 2021
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2021 Chinese New Year Grab and Go! This event was held on February 16, 2021 outside of the Allman Building. We practiced social distancing and mask-wearing, while celebrating the Chinese New Year and enjoying some delicious Chinese food including Fried Rice, Sweet ‘n Sour Chicken, Spring Vegetable Rolls, Walnut and Almond Cookies, and Tea and Lemonade. It was my first taste of Asian food, but it hasn't been my last.
Fiesta 2021
September, 2021
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The Fiesta Concert Under the Stars event was held at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Families had the option of being socially distanced by staying in their vehicles or if fully vaccinated were invited to bring their lawn chairs to enjoy the concert outside of their vehicles. It was a great evening of live Latin music and folkloric dancing on Friday, September 10, 2021. The stellar lineup included entertainment by Mariachi Los Galleros, Takiri Folklor Latino (Colombian), West End Mambo, and Los Acoustic Guys, Los Pleneros del Más Allá from Puerto Rico and A la Topa Tolondra from Colombia. In addition, there was a special recognition for the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Heroes ahead of the actual date on Saturday.
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Because of the importance of staying healthy during the Covid-19 pandemic, drive-through vaccines were available. It was a fabulous evening of entertainment that also included dinner options provided by Latin Food Trucks on-site for all to enjoy.
March, 2021
A Miner Dilemma
BY DUSTIN TILLEY
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When Cynthia Carroll, Harvard Business School MBA, the CEO of Anglo American PLC one of the world’s largest mining companies visited her alma mater and sat in on an MBA class we all received a lesson in diversity of perspectives.
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The class was going over a case exercise in major decision-making, in this instance at the CEO level. This was not coincidental on the professor’s part. The moderator was Professor Tsedal Neeley, author of “Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere.” Professor Neeley acted more as a facilitator of thought than as a traditional teacher. She introduced the key issue for which the class was to identify their perspectives and advice on how to resolve
and move forward.
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The case involved the mining company’s operation in South Africa and an event that actually occurred whereby a miner in Rustenberg had died as a result of an issue within the mine. The video indicated this had happened once before as well again due to something within the mine. The question placed to the group was “Given the circumstances do you shut down the mine immediately?” As you might imagine in a room full of future Harvard MBAs there were varying differences of opinion. The makeup of the class interestingly enough was more diverse than I expected. A number of different countries were represented, along with both genders, a reasonable mix of ages and backgrounds, and race.
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As it turns out this diverse mixture of opinions created stimulating, thought-provoking, and occasionally personal reactions not only to the case but also to their cohorts’ responses as well. For instance, when one Caucasian man appearing to be in his thirties advises there should be a proper investigation into the cause of the fatality, this however, he said, should not necessitate the immediate closing of the mine. After the gentleman spoke, another slightly younger African-American male spoke up and posed the question if the fatality had involved a white man would his response be different? From there the hands began raising at an alarming and eager rate. Students in attendance from other regions of the world voiced their strong opinions based on personal experiences with seeing one race treated differently than another.
The conversations were enthusiastic and engaging. In the end, a show of hands indicated that a slight majority of the class voted not to close the mine. Note, the same proportion of the classroom was made up of white males and females. That’s not to say all white males and females voted in this manner, just noting the ratio of diversity within the class.
As noted, the actual CEO, Ms. Carroll was present to watch this unfold. The video ends with the professor identifying the CEO, and explaining how while actually experiencing this crisis and being in the exact position of power to make this decision, she saved hundreds of lives by, you guessed it, shutting down the mine. She went on to establish safer working conditions for miners the world over and improving the lives and livelihoods of those minors and their
families well into the future. The CEO by the way just happened to be a Caucasian female.
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As I watched this video I couldn’t help but see the interesting parallel to the Global Solutions Challenge in which I was about to take part. The shared features of different genders, ages, races, ethnicities all coming together to resolve an issue that not one of them had before joining this group sparked my creative juices. I was ready to embark on this challenge and learn from the diversity of ideas from so many other people including those in other parts of the world. In this case that included the Kurdish students in our partner school in Iraq. It prepared me mentally for the type of engaging discussion that would build relationships, ignite innovative ideas, and hopefully arrive at a decision that would improve or resolve whatever the objective happened to be. I was more than motivated to dive into this world of diverse opinions and cultures, keeping my mind open to new ideas and perspectives, and eager to see where it all leads.
Needless to say, after participating in this challenge, I can enthusiastically say, it didn’t disappoint.
Parasite Movie Viewing
November 8, 2021
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REVIEW BY DUSTIN TILLEY
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Full disclosure, I watched this movie during the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic and initially thought it was a movie involving biological warfare of some sort by terrorists based on the publicity poster shown. To my pleasant surprise, it was not. And being that the entire South Korean movie was subtitled I was all the more surprised at how riveting it remained throughout, despite my trying to read and keep up at the same time.
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Now as you read this, one must assume due to the nature of this opinion piece that I’m going to disclose some important details, so
just be aware. First off, the title Parasite made perfect sense within about twenty minutes into the movie. After all, the Kim family represented the parasite, as the jobless family living in a half-basement apartment in the lower-income part of town. Whereas, the Park family who represented their host in this metaphor lived quite the opposite lifestyle. They were a wealthy, very upper-class family. How upper-class? They had marble floors on the second story of what turned out to be quite the massive contemporary home.
One by one, through a strategic street-smart approach, the Kim’s literally got their entire family jobs working for the Park family household, unbeknownst to the Parks that is, that they were all related. I was very into it throughout the first one hour and fifty minutes. That is, until the birthday party scene when the film took a very dark turn. From a critic’s perspective, I’m not sure why or even if it was necessary to go this dark at the end. It really did change the entire mood of the film. Then again, there’s a reason I don’t work in Hollywood, Bollywood, or foreign films.
When you look at the Korean film industry in general they are “known for themes about politics, revenge, and class issues” (iowastatedaily.com). This one touched on two of those themes (class and revenge). Although its landscape was somewhere in South Korea, the actual story could have taken place practically anywhere, including the United States.
One point I saw made clearly, throughout, was its depiction of how those on the poorer side of the tracks learn life lessons out of necessity. Known as “street-smarts”, it’s respected often for its uncanny manipulative nature on subjects that, at least on the surface, appear to be highly educated and should therefore know better. This is, however, how it is in many instances. Oftentimes, those with an abundance of money either don’t know how to do certain things or no longer care to do them and prefer to pay others for those services. When they do, the “laborer” is the wise one and can use their knowledge and unique experience and skills to take advantage of those less inclined.
It’s interesting in this movie as it is in life, how the wealthy class either consciously or subconsciously like to depict themselves as being better, smarter, more refined than that “other class”. One example in the movie involved a scene with the Park family, when the spouse was asked if their young son’s campout tent was high-quality, responded by saying, “Of course, it came from America.”
Depicting themselves as smarter, however, is rarely the reality. Those with less, learn to survive on their skills, wits, and intelligence out of necessity. They understand through life experience and witnessing consistent behavior, how this other segment of society thinks, and acts, and can determine the precise way to feed their opponent’s self-centeredness to achieve their objectives. One popular quote that refers to this phenomenon is “You’ll never be poor, playing to a rich man’s ego.”
As I said before, aside from the film set portrayed as being in South Korea, the storyline is not unique to this region of the world. In this way, it’s yet another example of the “global scholars learning effect” in how though the customs, rituals, and belief systems sometimes are different, we’re all human. As such, there are certain human characteristics and phenomenon that knows no border. Class systems are an example of this. Their region’s natural environment may pose different obstacles, but the basic human response is often the same. Those in need can feel a sense of desperation, anxiety, stress, and depression. Ironically, those with a life of abundance may also feel some of these same emotions, as indicated in the rap lyric, “Mo money, mo problems.”
We learn that it’s universal that if we encourage this “I’m better than you” attitude as a society of opaque class systems that look down on, and/or, ignore the needs of the less fortunate, all humankind suffers. This is not a debate over capitalism versus communism, or even socialism in its purest form. It’s just a fact of life that as a species we can’t simply sit by and watch people fall off the cliff of life because of situations beyond their control. There has to be a safety net for mankind, regardless of your citizenship. Those blessed with abundance have an obligation both ethically and in reality to aid those not so fortunate. It’s what keeps the human race civil, livable, and provides each individual on this planet with a sense of hope for their life.
It’s apparent a common thread is appearing, whereas I experience the many different events, productions, stories, festivals, and so on in the Global
Scholars program, the more I learn about the differences, the more I see our inherent commonalities. Something I did not expect to witness when this all began. Yet, very socially conscious, and important to know just the same.
November, 2020
REVIEW BY DUSTIN TILLEY
Professor Tsedal Neeley, author of “Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere” researched five years with inside information and unblemished access studying the effects of language and culture on Japan’s largest online retailor, Racketand. She indicates that on March 1, 2010, the top official announced to his company’s employees in person and virtual that “From this day forward our company is changing its working language from Japanese to English. Employees must learn or face demotion within two years.” His objective was to integrate his operations globally, and to do that he felt he needed a common language across the organization to communicate.
The professor had full access to study the results of this company-wide change in language. The top official granted her access to pertinent data, and to physically witness the changes that took place over this time. Throughout she learned more about the relationship between language and culture. Her preconceived notions were that they were bound to each other. She quickly learned however, they are not inseparable as she once thought. In fact, she learned people are much more connected if they treat these two things separately.
Interesting statistics she noted, 60 percent of global nations have a common language, usually English. There are more English speakers in China, over 300 million, than in the U.S. (population 328 million). And, she notes, English is the fastest spreading language in human history.
Culture, she defines as the customs, rituals, values, and norms of any given nation. She explains, the belief, is the way we manage culture and differences is by deciphering each other’s proliferation and codes. Then she asks what happens if we treat them separately? She learned through this experience combined with her own, that if you speak a common language you have the potential of reaching anyone.
The Racketand Company initially experienced anxiety and language shock when they started this change. However, within two years they began to spread their ideas and practices in new ways. English was the conduit that
allowed them to do this. Americans loved it, happy they picked English. Within two years those from “other cultures” working at Racketand were found to be the most flexible in taking up a new language and culture. They understood you could separate and even mix cultures and languages and be most effective.
Professor Neeley mentions we’ve had different languages and cultures throughout history. She witnessed after the change had taken hold in Racketand, the diversity of culture was united in a single language and was relating to each other in a much more unifying and harmonious way. She deduced from this “experiment in research”, that “Language, is our bridge to understanding, compassion, and connection, in order that we can join together in clarity.”
I must say, I was rather shocked to see this conclusion based on my preconceived thoughts and knowledge from before seeing this. To imagine, forcing people to assimilate to one language across the globe, in all operations just seemed a bit of an over-reach and expectation. And yet from a logical viewpoint, she explains not just logistically about how operations benefit, but, and perhaps even more impressive is on a personal level how these people seem to get along better. They saw themselves not as different, but as a team. They weren’t separating themselves as she mentioned in the beginning in the lunch or break rooms, but instead, were coming together more cohesively. When one thinks of it that way, it makes perfect sense.
I can’t help but feel like by accepting this and even finding some slight agreement with it in principle, that I’m doing something wrong however. I try to put myself in their position, and thinking
if I had to learn a new language to keep my job how would I feel. Despite this, it appears the employees once their transition was complete moved toward it with renewed enthusiasm. It made them happier, feeling more a part of the team. Maybe this was part of what Professor Neeley was trying to get across. That we, ourselves, need to get past our initial perceptions of how it appears and pay more attention to what makes the employees more satisfied with their work. In the end, that’s what’s most important in order to succeed and thrive.
Interview questions completed in October, 2020
Questions/Answers related to the presentation and with regard to your own personal experience, as answered by Dustin Tilley
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From where have you gotten the most information about the COVID-19 vaccines?
From television, mostly social media, and hearsay from friends/family.
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Has the information you have received about the COVID-19 vaccines made you less likely to get a vaccine, more likely to get a vaccine, or had no effect on how likely you are to get a vaccine?
I had strong hesitancy for a while since social distancing was going to be going on anyway and it was said that there could be strong reactions in patients after getting shots, and not everything might be known at that point. Once I started seeing openness to it, the president/vice president receiving it, and even a lot of people I know on social media already getting it, it was easier to be more comfortable with the idea.
How do you decide which information you should trust and which information you shouldn’t trust about the COVID-19 vaccines?
-Articles/sources should be questioned and critical thinking is important, the best advice is to look at where it's coming from (government website, news), whether it's a reliable source, what the content is, and just be intentional about what we're reading and it's reliability. It also matters if that source has shown evidence. Much bad information gets spread in Latino communities thinking it's trustworthy information and trying to protect each other. The New York Times has some investigative articles.
What are the promotoras de salud (community health workers) doing that you think might make people more likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine? What obstacles might make it harder for the promotoras de salud to convince people that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective?
The staff are getting out more in the public spreading vital information. They use the "two-way model" because it's a casual conversation, to allow people they're interviewing to be more comfortable asking questions they might think are silly but actually they need help understanding.
Hispanic & African American communities often don't trust hospitals to give them completely fair treatment because some have had bad experiences. In addition, hospitals are struggling with capacity issues, high levels of stress and burnout causing nurses to walk away from the profession.
Previewed: February 22, 2022
Malcolm Gladwell, author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath; co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content company; selected as TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and touted as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers, gave a presentation to employees and executives at Microsoft Corporation. The following editorial is about that presentation.
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Gladwell touched on his book Outliers and some things he learned since its publication in reference to what makes one person successful and another not? He found three things in particular that impacted the result: poverty, stupidity (in judgment and decisions by others), and attitude. Poverty’s effects have been well documented. Ignorance in judgment, a thought not touched on as much, is well understood by anyone that has been impacted personally by one of these individuals and situations. Then he arrived at attitude, and this is where I begin…
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Why are Asian people so much better at math than western cultures?
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Gladwell advises one possible theory is their ancestors for many years were rice farmers, and rice farming is one of the most difficult and complicated crops to raise. It requires work from sunup to sundown, weekdays, and weekends, throughout the year. Most farmers in western culture work hard for most of the year and then winter hits and they rest. Gladwell says that when your culture has this (Asian) work ethic for 1000 years in its history, it becomes a part of your makeup whether you farm or not. And it is passed down beautifully from generation to generation.
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Gladwell says this mindset instills, you must put in the work to get the result, as a Chinese proverb says, “A man who works from sunup to sundown, 360 days a year, will not go hungry” can attest. Asian children learn early regarding math problems that if they put in the effort and time they will figure out the solution to the problem. Western children, on the other hand, believe it’s their ability that determines if they can figure out the solution to the problem. This is a completely different paradigm in mindset. In essence, Gladwell says, the Asian culture is better at capitalizing on their talent, especially when it comes to STEM classes.
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Why are Kenyans and Ethiopians so dominant in long-distance running as their number of Olympic medals clearly shows?
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Alberto Salazar (renowned runner) says in Kenya, there are approximately a million schoolboys that run 10-12 miles a day between the ages of 10-17. By contrast, he says the same number in the United States is probably around 5000. Gladwell points out, that from this statistic it’s apparent that in Kenya if a person is good at distance running they will find them based on these numbers. As compared to the U.S. where there could be 1000s if not more talented distance runners who never discover their talent in this area because they do not participate in this activity. The difference, he says, is what does the culture value, and where do they put their time and attention? Kenyans are good at distance running because of this, and Westerners are not as much.
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His objective in these two examples appears to say when you look for potential in humans you should not dismiss their abilities and say they are “incapable of success, or their challenges are too powerful, too ingrained for us to do anything about.” You must look beyond this, and there you will find opportunities that likely didn’t exist before because of poverty, ignorance on the part of those who judge, and the attitudes of the individuals you’re working with.
In listening to his speech to this group at Microsoft intended to be about his book Outliers, a subsequent lesson in global cultures ensued. Although he makes some very powerful observations that show us there are distinct differences in cultures around the world; that’s not something new. However, our “understanding” of these cultures, and the realization of how the cultures impact individuals concerning behavior, talents, skills, attitudes, perspectives, and more, helps us to become aware of how although we’re different in many ways, equally we’re the same. As in his examples of the runners, if more American children ran each day, more talent in this area would be found. Relating the Asian culture’s work ethic may be slightly more difficult to replicate, and I’m not sure we would want to completely, because their approach too, has its concerns and issues (burnout, etc.).
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The point is, understanding is the center of this great circle of global cultures inhabiting our planet. It is the one thing that will help us at a minimum to get along and coexist, and at a maximum to learn and benefit from what each side brings to the table to make our planet a better, safer, healthier place to live. Understanding is in short supply these days as it has been historically.
Perhaps, with my internet generation and the generations to follow, this will begin to change. It’s already happening to me.
Previewed March 16, 2022
I, like most Americans, had no idea of Trevor Noah’s tragic background. I knew he was a native of South Africa and I’d heard him mention on his show about growing up in Apartheid several times, but I didn’t have a full understanding of how it influenced him.
Growing up "Colored"
For instance, how he grew up in a country that brazenly divided people into three groups, Black, Colored (half-black,
half-white), and White, and making those in the middle (Colored) group a “crime”. Given the book title, you know which group he was in. His father was a white European and his mother was black. He discussed how they could not appear in public together for fear he would be removed from them, the same as had been done to others like him. It affected his childhood, how he played, who he associated with, and ultimately how he turned out as a man.
One story he tells about being a fast runner identifies how he learned to overcome some of his challenges. By getting to the lunchroom first he was able to learn to make money off his talent. He took food orders before lunch and then bought their food for them when he reached the cafeteria first. This gave him money, extra time to eat (arriving first led to more time for lunch by not waiting in line), and he was building a relationship with parties of the “other” groups. Whether in his child’s mind, he realized it or not, he was adapting to his surroundings. Ultimately, honing his craft in comedy as he learned to talk with those in the other groups and humor them, being careful as he says not to “overstay his welcome.”
Religious diversity is achieved by happenstance
His mother was initially a devout follower of Jesus, then when he was a teenager she turned to Judaism and began teaching him the same. It being evident that his family was caught between worlds in South Africa, religion played an important role, stating, “Religion was a family, that we could claim, that we never had.” He developed a religious tolerance and understanding far beyond his years.
Learning revenge isn’t the best medicine
Typically, hurt people hurt people, but this didn’t occur with Trevor into adulthood. Growing up abused by his stepfather, and seeing his mother abused as well, there’s the playground story he tells that explains where everything turned for him. After being bullied by colored kids no less, he comes home and tells his mom and stepfather, Able. Able quickly gets angry and has Trevor lead him back to the playground and to the leader of the bully pack. At which point Able begins whipping the young boy profusely. Witnessing this scene made Trevor realize that “in his need for revenge the cycle would never break.” He saw revenge as something not to seek in the future.
Racism in U.S. versus South Africa
The difference between the U.S. and South Africa, he says, is in South Africa they know there’s racism, they don’t deny it. Then he says something surprising, “It’s easier to heal when there is brutal honesty than to act like it’s not there.” Strangely, Trevor felt comfort in this candid approach to obvious racism. As opposed to how in America it is denied and yet it still exists. He even developed empathy for the South African officers, because, he said, they have a job to do.
Violence against women topic
This subject was especially difficult to listen to. His stepfather, Able, abused alcohol, which then lead to him abusing Trevor, his brother, and his mother. He even tells one dramatic story of a pan catching fire on the stove when Able came home drunk one evening and attempted to cook something before passing out. It led to his mother going to the police to file a report on Able and his abuse (he struck her during an argument), only to be played off and told it was a simple domestic dispute. When his mother was helpless that night in the police station, the people she thought would help her, didn’t. Even his grandmother was also hit by her husband. Trevor in thinking about them both asked, “Where do you go when your world is a world of abuse?” It led to his compassion and understanding of this tragic situation in relationships.
How to break free from your environment without losing your identity with it
He learned an important lesson from his mother about “the hood”, when she told him, “If you start doing better, or progressing in the hood, you must leave, if not, it pulls you back in.” She went on to describe you will be set up to be arrested or shot. She told him college was a different “hood” in that “at university, you will hang out with people who will push you to be more than you are now.” By leaving his existing hood, it left him, in regard to his actions, but he never forgot where he came from.
The hero of his story was his mom
She was the bright light in his very dark world. She was his teacher, his protector, and she provided the love and guidance he needed to become a strong man. He describes her in this way. “She had to raise a man, and still be a woman, be the head of the household, and more.” She was the rock that provided the solid foundation for him to build upon. Paying the ultimate compliment he said he, “felt lucky to share a life with her.”
Where this all left me…
I took extra space on this site to summarize some of what Trevor said so that I could keep it as a record of the lessons it taught me. At times I found it to be quite disturbing to listen to. It didn’t paint a very pretty picture of the world we live in. To hear the tragic stories was difficult, however, to then hear his wisdom gained from it was amazing. Growing up in a world of violence didn’t create another violent man. On the contrary, Trevor has a peaceful demeanor, an almost quiet voice. When he conducts interviews on
difficult subjects, he remains calm, compassionate, and focused intently on his guest. He’s fully engaged. He doesn’t cut them off when telling their story, using the same precise skill and technique of a classic Larry King interview.
Is it nature or nurture? Who knows? Regardless, I see him differently now. I respected him before, but now, I understand he “knows from what he speaks.” It’s hard for others to argue with someone who's been there, done that, in many of the same situations. And it’s much easier to watch someone interview others who’ve experienced tragedy in their lives, knowing he has something to share that can make a difference for them.
He's a celebrity, and because of the exposure, you think you know someone until you realize you don’t. He shows his fans and others that challenges in life don’t have to break you. How events in our childhood don’t have to define us. How environments don’t have to directly shape the final version of who we become. How we can overcome our individual “hoods” without forgetting whence we came. How revenge isn’t the answer and hate begets hate. Surround yourself with people who make you better rather than tear you down. Acknowledging the truth can sometimes be difficult to hear. That sometimes we need to see the dark to appreciate the light. That “Laughter is the anesthesia of the mind.” Finally, much like the words of Will Rogers, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”
And to think I thought he was just a comedic talk-show host.
International Cultural Heritage Awareness Event (a.k.a. Springfest 2022)
April 6, 2022
This year’s Springfest held on the campus of Forsyth Technical Community College was a multi-cultural event representing a wide swath of countries, cultures, and traditions. I worked the event as an SGA Representative manning the Australia booth. Initially, prior to the event starting, I was able to visit the other booths and see the different countries and displays up close to learn more about each. The booths would include various displays from (pictures of) native food selections, to games, history, notable citizens, and other information about the host country. In our booth, for instance, we advised patrons about some fun, interesting facts about Australia such as:
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Australia is the only continent (Oceania) covered by a single country.
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It has 160 spoken languages (English is the most dominant).
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Roast lamb is their national dish.
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Cricket is considered their national sport.
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Aussies refer to dogs as Dish lickers.
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Australia’s the world’s sixth-biggest country after Russia, Canada, China, the USA, and Brazil.
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90% of Australians live on the coast.
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Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world.
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90% of its indigenous species occur nowhere else,
including the koala, kangaroo, dingo, echidna, wallaby, platypus, and wombat.
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It’s home to some of the world’s most dangerous animals like the box jellyfish, taipan (snake), blue-ringed octopus, redback spider, and stonefish.
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It’s also home to the World’s Largest Reef Ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef. It’s the only living thing on Earth visible from space.
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It snows in Australia. The Australian Alps in winter, receive about 35 inches of snow per year.
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Finally, the famous Sydney Opera House is big enough to accommodate seven A380 airplanes. The Concert Hall must remain at a cool 72.5° F, to ensure the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s instruments stay in tune. Seawater’s pumped from the surrounding ocean to power the building’s heating and cooling systems.
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The Quinceanera
August 2022
In August 2022, I was invited to a friend’s relative’s quinceanera. It was my first one so I was both excited and a little nervous about what, if anything, I’m supposed to do besides bringing a gift for the birthday girl. Some background, the Quinceanera is termed a “coming-of-age celebration for Latinas, highlighting God, family, friends, music, food, and dance.” Quinceañera means “15 years” in Spanish, and is “the celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday, marking her passage from girlhood to womanhood.” It reinforces the importance of family and society in her life. It’s celebrated in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, as well as, in Latino communities in the United States and other countries.
It’s quite an extravagant party that takes place after the birthday girl and her family first attend a private mass ceremony. After mass, the group joins the rest of the party including more family and friends at a special ceremonial location. In this case, it happened to be the La Terraza Event Center in Kernersville, NC. The setting was elaborately decorated for the evening, as white satin fabric adorned the ceiling and was draped gracefully to the walls. The stairs to the D.J. stand were also decorated with more satin fabric and special lighting. I was very happy to see how warmly I was welcomed as soon as I walked in the door. Only knowing the sister of the birthday girl, I was surprised at how well they all greeted me, like family. I felt instantly comfortable, taking my place at a table near the side to be able to witness the evening’s events easily.
Latin music was played over the sound system by a hired disc jockey, while we enjoyed the nice dinner prepared for us in advance. After dinner, there were several toasts offered by those close to the “woman of honor”. She sat at a table in the front along with her family and what I later learned was her “court” of damas (“maids of honour”) and chambelánes (“chamberlains”). This would become even more important later.
There were symbolic rituals that began with the mother’s placement of a tierra on the head of the guest of honor. Followed by the young lady presenting a doll (she owned in childhood) to a younger sibling or family member. This was to symbolize her “giving up her childhood.” Next, she had a chamberlain place a pair of opulent high-heeled shoes on her feet (ala’ Cinderella) to symbolize that “she is ready for womanhood”, or at least, in this case, to begin dating. She then made her way over to the dessert table where she sliced the first piece from a three-tiered cake with the number 15 on top, and took a bite.
Then came, what I can only imagine, was the main emotional part of the evening for the parents, “the dance.” The young lady was escorted to the dance floor by her father, initially to dance a slow dance. It was just as one might expect. That is until a young gentleman approached and asked to “cut in”. The father obliged and the young couple proceeded to dance a choreographed waltz to a different beat. They were really good and clearly knew what they were doing. The crowd erupted in applause as they enjoyed the entertainment.
After the ceremonial events concluded, the music was turned up and the D.J. encouraged everyone to join in on the dance floor. This was the official invitation for the rest of the guests to join in on the fun. From there it was music, dancing, and entertaining conversations with the different guests throughout the evening. What a great way to celebrate a special birthday!
