ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Fe Esperanza Candelario recited the lines to the "Himno a las Madres" ("Mother's Hymn") word for word.
"Now that I'm singing it to you, I realize how many beautiful words it has," she said. "It says that a mother's love will disguise all your fears and pain. How a mother protects and loves. The words are truly beautiful."
- Dominicans across the Lehigh Valley will celebrate Mother's Day on May 28
- Dia de la Madres takes place the last Sunday of May each year
- Dominicans who live or work in the Lehigh Valley will take part in the tradition to honor their heritage.
As a young girl, Candelario, like most elementary students in the Dominican Republic, learned the lyrics to the anthem in school.
It often is performed in the Latin American country on Día de las Madres (Mother's Day), which takes place on the last Sunday of May.
This year, the holiday falls today, May 28 and thousands of Dominicans who live or work in the Lehigh Valley will take part in the tradition to honor their heritage.
Double the celebration
Locals, who have blended American traditions with their origins, say they feel blessed to celebrate the holiday twice.
Allentown Council Vice President Cynthia Mota, who was born in the Santo Domingo Este, a suburb of the country's capital, got a surprise gift from her husband on May 14.
"He sent me a caricature from Berlin and made sure it arrived in time for Mother's Day," she said.
But she said the real gifts arrive at the end of the May each year.
"In our culture, Mother's Day is so important to us," she said. "I have two kids and they know, especially my son, that they have to come up with two nice drawings, one for each Mother's Day."
She said her family celebrates the American version of the holiday on the second Sunday of May with her sister, then holds a bigger celebration for Día de las Madres.
Food is the must for the celebration to be complete.
"We make Dominican sancocho, a stew with five meats, and a dish called 'la bandera' that has rice, beans and chicken," she said. "It's always a bigger party and a bigger deal."
Carrying on traditions
Candelario is a licensed counselor who works in a private practice and with high school students at William Allen High School and Newcomer Academy.
Her daughter was born in New York, but spent six years attending Domínico Americano in Santo Domingo while Candelario worked there.
She said that as a mother, she hopes her offspring doesn't forget about the Dominican heritage.
"We take vacations to the Dominican Republic and I taught her how to read Spanish," she said. "And we celebrate by cooking and eating the foods and by listening to music like merengue and bachata."
Honoring those who passed on
On Sunday, it will be Candelario's first Dominican Mother's Day without her abuelita, Ana Mercedes, who passed away in November.
"I would celebrate the day more if my grandmother was still alive," said Candelario, who moved to the Unites States in the 1980s. "We would go see her in the Dominican Republic or she would come visit us in the U.S. The last time she was here was in 2019."
Candelario said Dia de las Madres in the country starts early, as it is customary to attend church services — and ends late at night after dinner and dancing.
In between those moments, families who have lost loved ones often pay a visit to the gravesites and light candles in memory of the deceased in their homes.
"People do more for their mother's on Mother's Day than on birthdays and even Christmas," she said. "And it's customary to go to a cemetery for the ones who have passed. There is a lot of appreciation of mothers in my culture. We are raised to take care of our mothers when they get older."
Online salutations
Ana Velez donned a huge grin as she listened to Dominican Mother's Day hymn on YouTube while scrolling through photos of her mother on her phone.
"I remember this song," she said. "I grew up singing it to my mother on Mother's Day. They always played it on the radio and at school."
Although her two children and grandchildren don't celebrate the Dominican holiday, they know about its cultural significance.
"People do more for their mother's on Mother's Day than on birthdays and even Christmas and it's customary to go to a cemetery for the one's who have passed. There is a lot of appreciation of mothers in my culture. We are raised to take care of our mothers when they get older."Fe Esperanza Candelario, licensed psychologist
"I do teach them about the holidays and share memories, but since I have lived here so many years and my mother has passed, I will just post something online to my friends in the Dominican Republic," Velez, a licensed clinical social worker in Gilbert, Monroe County, said.
"On Mother's Day I posted a photo with my husband's mother to Facebook, and I will post again a photo of my mother on Dia de la Madre. I miss her. She is with me always."
