The Cuban content creator Rose Mary Ortega, known on Instagram as @rosemary.ort, has attracted attention on social media after confidently stating: "Of course I celebrate New Year's three times a year."
The young woman celebrates the start of the year according to the Gregorian calendar —January 1—, the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is celebrated on February 17 in several Asian countries, and also Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year celebrated in April.
From Cuba to Italy and then to Thailand
Although she was born in Cuba, Rose Mary grew up in Italy, a country where she spent much of her life before embarking on a journey that would change her fate.
The young Cuban mother shared in another of her videos that she traveled to Thailand for the first time as a tourist, but she fell deeply in love with the culture, lifestyle, and energy of the Asian country.
What began as a temporary experience turned into a lifelong project. Today, she resides in Thailand with her husband and their three daughters, where she shares snippets of her daily life, cultural curiosities, and experiences as a Cuban mother in Asia.
A community that grows due to the uniqueness of its history
Her Instagram account has only a few videos published so far, but her community is growing quickly. For many users, it’s striking to see a Cuban adapting to such a different culture, celebrating local traditions and explaining details that are not commonly known in the Spanish-speaking world.
Lunar New Year, for example, is one of the most important celebrations in much of Asia and is governed by the lunisolar calendar. In Thailand, moreover, Songkran marks the beginning of the traditional Thai year with celebrations that include Buddhist rituals and popular water festivals.
From her multicultural experience, Rose Mary demonstrates how it is possible to integrate different traditions and make them one's own. Her phrase, far from being a curiosity, encapsulates her diverse identity and adaptability: to celebrate not one, but three times the beginning of a new cycle.
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