Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
When Alexa Flores López found out she would have a quinceañera, she could barely contain herself. A quinceañera is the traditional celebration of a 15th birthday in Mexico.
Volunteers rushed around the Federico Gomez Children’s Hospital in Mexico City to attend to birthday girls and boys.
It was all part of the hospital’s annual “Mis XV”, or “My Fifteenth”, event.
Whether the young patients are in treatment for a serious disease or have recovered from cancer, the hospital celebrates the coming-of-age of these teenagers.
The event began in 2017 after volunteer nurses realised that a beloved patient would turn 15 soon. It is a milestone birthday in Mexican culture.
They took it as an opportunity to organise a celebration for her and eventually turned it into an annual hospital event.
