In Costa Rica, Mother’s Day is celebrated every August 15, coinciding with the Feast of the Assumption, a date full of religious and cultural significance.
In other countries, this special date is celebrated on different dates. For example, in the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, among other nations, the celebration is on the second Sunday of May. In Spain, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of May and in El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize, it is celebrated on May 10, while in Nicaragua on May 30. In Panama, the celebration takes place on December 8.
Taking into account that this Sunday (second of May) in several countries many families celebrate mothers and that there are many Tico women (mothers) outside Costa Rican soil, giving the best of themselves, we wanted to make this touching story about the power of motherhood and the legacy that transcends generations, a tribute to all of them.
Mother’s Day is a special occasion to celebrate those extraordinary women who give us life, take care of us, and inspire us every day.
The recognized World Champion of Adapted CrossFit, Amalia Ortuño, shared with our team, the experiences and teachings with her mother.
Her mother’s name is Dora Lizano, she is a sculptor by profession, but she was always a dance teacher, she had academies in different parts of Costa Rica, which is why Amalia was closely linked to dance since she was two years old.
“My mom always taught me about perseverance, about resilience, about fighting for a dream and not giving up,” Ortuño said.
Amalia has been practicing different sports since she was very young. It was engraved in her mind that many times she did not want to go to training or did not want to continue in that discipline and in response to that, her mother always told her “that one had to be perseverant and that one could not be changing the things one did or sport just when one wanted to, that if one was committed to do something, one had to do it fully and that the results would come with time and were not immediate things”.
Amalia’s parents divorced when she was eight years old, so she moved to San José. “My dad stayed in Turrialba and I learned a lot from my mom to fight hard to get the three of us ahead.
Amalia has two brothers, Max and Daniel, her twin…
Her mother has always kept busy, full of work in the afternoons, “which is when you get out of school, she runs here and runs there, I would take the bus to the ballet and dance with her, she would take us to the activities we had, she would make the time. My mom has always told me, that I keep as a motto of life: Be careful with what you want because you will get it, it gives me strength to continue, it makes me mentalize and project something I like and fight for it until I achieve it.
For Amalia, her mother’s teachings make her carry with her no matter what the process is, “that when you direct all your positive energies into something, those things will happen, just as if you do it in a negative way, then you have to be very careful with what you really want,” she said.
Today, he no longer lives with his mother, he has a separate house, but in spite of that, his mother is a daily support. “We talk every day, she is always there, she is always the person I turn to first when I have a problem, when I have a doubt when I need some advice, I love her very much and I want her to last me many, many more years”.
A legacy of love, strength, and joy: Amanda Moncada remembers her mother
“Without realizing it, you eventually become like your mother, because that is a very vivid example that you have in life,” said the renowned fashion specialist, Amanda Moncada, telling us about who her mother was: Virginia Mora Valverde and her experience being also the mother of three: Amanda, Lorena and Iliana.
She had an excellent relationship with her mother, “she was a great support for me. She always looked at me with admiration, pushed me, and transmitted me many things that help you with self-esteem, to feel confident, probably influenced by a good environment”.
Doña Amanda said that as soon as she had the capacity, she began to give her mother grandchildren, “Motherhood is inherent to women and is one of the greatest gifts one has in life”.
She considers that as a mother, Amanda has been one of those who has given what was within her reach, even still. She is a 24/7 mom and 24/7 grandmother, who believes in the family, “in the responsibility I have with my offspring, but I also see my offspring from a very positive point of view. I am not one of those who believe that the world is going to get worse, no, I am one of those who believe that the world is going to get better because young people are contributing with young energy”.
However, he looks at his ancestors: mom, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. with love and gratitude, all part of a great family effort “to be where we are, and that is a gratitude one has in life”.
Keeping a family together…
In Amanda Moncada’s family, cooking stands out. “I like to cook, now I don’t work so much and with respect to my daughters, one is a chef and the other is an entrepreneur in the world of food and I see my grandchildren and they also like cooking, so you can see the incredible influence they have from our ancestors”.
For Amanda, family is the number one thing in life, you have to work to keep it together always.
As mentioned, she has 3 daughters; one is in finance, and two in the world of cooking.
Now, how are her daughters similar to her?
Regarding Amanda, “We have a spiritual affinity, I think we do many things alike. What happens is that you will see that there are many coincidences with the three of them in sports, but especially maybe in their calm way of solving problems, I think we are similar,” she said.
“Lorena and I have the same character, we love to party, we are great party girls and we are very friendly. That doesn’t mean that my oldest daughter is not a party girl, but not to the level where Lorena and I are the closest thing we have,” she explained.
And he also talked about his daughter Iliana, “she thinks she looks more like her father than me. Well, maybe that’s true, but there are many similar tastes, we like the same series, we like the same conversation, among others. My first two daughters are athletes, and my third daughter is a bit of an athlete, she is just starting, so I don’t consider her as much of an athlete, but she is a girl who is, without having known my mother, the representation of my mother. Imagine how I feel when I see her doing things that my mother did without her knowing it. So all those things unite me to each one of them,” she added.
Finally, Amanda expressed specially for her daughters, that undoubtedly the family is the backbone of her life, leaving everything else out.
Every mother is a special being, all different, but they always carry with them the unconditional love for their children, the daily dedication, and the motivation to be better for them and their family, for this and much more, Happy Mother’s Day to all of them, may they be celebrated today and always!
