“Quien sabe más, vale más . . .” goes an old Spanish adage.

Simply, those who know more, are worth more.

Bring in bilingual/bicultural moms and blend in Mother’s Day, and you begin to see a whole new day.

Dia de las Madres is celebrated every May 10 in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala. Mother’s Day, in the USA falls on the second Sunday of May and this year, caramba, both holidays fall on the same day!

Throughout the Southwest and other areas, many families honor their Chicana/Latina moms twice in May. And most families agree that these special moms certainly are worthy of a dual celebration for all they do for their children and extended families that most have.

These moms know many of the struggles their children face when coming face to face with their particular school systems and their ever-changing methods, mostly based on an arcane Eurocentric academic configuration. These moms also know about language barriers and the bullying that is usually reserved for children with Spanish surnames.

And in too many cases, they also find strength to survive their spouses’ macho-man manners.

“Anda tu-you go,” is what lots of Latino dads order their wives to do when Juanito/a comes home with note asking for their presence for either a parent conference or some trouble they may have gotten into. “Tu sabes más- you know more about this.”

As a survivor of a short stint as a junior high teacher, I write from experience (not from a reading assignment). I still recall some of the nightmares the pedagogue profession left ingrained in my mind.

However, I also remember and cherish the best memories of those years, when the majority of the parents of my 8th grade ESL students formed their own parent group and caused ripples throughout the school system. Those moments and parents’ images remain deep in my heart.

This special group of human beings, when realizing that America also had a day to honor moms, welcomed the idea of being extra nice, twice.

So when Dia de las Madres and Mother’s Day arrived, these families celebrated both dates and honestly felt more than obligated to do so.

Grant you, this was not a new idea. Many Hispanic husbands recognize this fact and lavish gifts or special dinners on their wives on both days. However, it is probably more common throughout the Southwest than say, Minnesota. Perhaps the proximity to the Motherlands has something to do with it.

Take the Norma and Carlos Garcia family. He hails from a northern Mexican state and she is a U.S. born and educated Latina who recently retired from teaching.

“We’re both of Mexican descent, but many of our special days are not exactly meant to be celebrated on the same day,” said Norma. “But for Mother’s Day, Carlos goes all out and honors me on both days except when the holiday falls on the same day.”

Norma still remembers such an occasion in 1998, when both Mom’s Days came together on the second Sunday of May.

“Poor Carlos,” recalled the former educator. “He didn’t know whether to do a double cook-out or bring over some mariachis to delight us twice as long!”

Hectic, yes. Fun, doubly.

Ms. Garcia offers advice to her fellow U.S. born women who have a special Mexican, Guatemala, or El Salvador connection.

“If you fall under this category through marriage or family history, and your loved ones want to praise and honor you in honor of your ancestors, so be it and enjoy it.”

Okay, so what will a dual Mom’s Day do to the man of the house’s wallet, in terms of having to fork out twice as much for the holiday?

“Let’s focus on all the good it will do for you, the hubby,” said Ms. Garcia. “As far as those so called ‘brownie-points’ go, the men will have accumulated enough to take care of almost an entire NFL season!”

Seriously. By honoring mom for being among the best in two languages and two cultures sends a unique message to the children and other folks who are part of an extended family celebrating mom.

“And who knows?” asked Ms. Garcia. “This double day event may just catch on and be accepted throughout our country, not just in the Southwest.”