Celebrating a patient’s centennial with mariachis, tamales and dancing

WellMed clinic team surprises a patient just days before her 100th birthday with a celebration replete with food, beverage, music and a visit from the mayor of Alice, Texas.

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, friends, family, her health care team and full high school mariachi band gathered at WellMed at Alice near Corpus Christi to celebrate Anita Vela’s upcoming centennial milestone.

When Anita Vela was born on Aug. 31, 1926, South Texas was a very different place. Most roads were unpaved, families gathered around radios for entertainment, and the idea of carrying a telephone in your pocket would have sounded like science fiction.

Calvin Coolidge was president, Route 66 was being established, Al Capone was beginning his rise during the Prohibition era, and Bonnie and Clyde were still Texas teens years away from becoming infamous outlaws.

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, friends, family, her health care team and full high school mariachi band gathered at WellMed at Alice near Corpus Christi to celebrate Anita’s upcoming centennial milestone.

Among the crowd greeting her as she entered the clinic was her primary care clinician, Nurse Practitioner Ashley Boerjan.

“I told you we were going to have a party for you,” Ashley said to a clearly surprised Anita.

“Yes, but I thought I was just going to get a cupcake,” Anita said, laughing.

Instead, she was met with music from a 15-piece mariachi band from Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School. Children from as far away as Michigan came to join in the surprise celebration.

Alice Mayor Cynthia Carrasco presented her with a special recognition honoring her 100th birthday. Family members treated the guests in attendance to 100 tamales they purchased for the party.

Born Anita Smithwick in the rural community of La Parita in Atascosa County, Anita spent her childhood in South Texas before attending San Diego High School. There she met Rodolfo Cantu Vela, the young man who would become her husband and lifelong dance partner. A teen bride, Anita went on to raise six children while building a life rooted in hard work, faith and family.

The Velas eventually settled in Alice, where Rodolfo served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and Anita worked briefly as a nurse. Later, the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Anita and Rodolfo, along with some of their adult children, worked in a manufacturing plant producing seat belts for many of America’s leading automobile companies.

After Rodolfo’s passing, Anita returned home to Texas and has spent her retirement years surrounded by the people she loves most. Her extended family includes 25 grandchildren, 47 great grandchildren and 62 great great grandchildren. She fondly remembers dancing cumbias and two-steps with her husband at South Texas dance halls.

And on Wednesday, as mariachis serenaded her, WellMed staff helped Anita to her feet to dance again.