For Latino Community, Cincuentañeros is Time for Celebration

Salud, dinero y amor. Spanish for “health, wealth and love.” Three vital ingredients for a good life at any age, but for Latinos entering their 50s, having mastered these elements can be a cause for real celebration. This spring, AARP is launching a social movement called Cincuentañeros (Spanish for “people who are turning 50”), which encourages those achieving this milestone to be excited about their future, empowered by the great things they have already experienced.

The word is inspired in part by the tradition in some Latino cultures of the quinceañera, an elaborate party a family throws for a girl’s 15th birthday. But for Cincuentañeros, the celebration lasts longer than a day — and isn’t just for women.

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“In the Latino community, a lot of people have a big, festive event for their 50th birthday, but not everyone sees it as positive,” says Yvette Peña, vice president of Multicultural Leadership for AARP. “Instead of feeling they are getting old, they should feel empowered and think, I’m only 50. What else can I do? It’s a beginning.”

In March, AARP brought three experts — on health, money and love — to speak at the Poderosas (“Powerful Women”) conference in Miami; they discussed how optimism at 50 can help people thrive in the next phase of their lives.