Carolina y Timoteo a Love Story Told Over 100yrs Later ....

Love is when you fell so hard that your great-great granddaughter writes your love story over a hundred years later...

Spending my last night on the Riverwalk thinking about Carolina y Timoteo. Drove by their old houses today.

What was their love story like? I know they had a bunch of kids (haha). They were beautiful people because their daughter Juana (my great-grandmother was absolutely beautiful!

Given the dating protocol back then, was Timoteo allowed to take her on dates? Did they have to be chaperoned?

How did they meet? Was it love at first site?

Did Timoteo leave everything behind in Brownsville to live in San Antonio, just to be near her?

Did she enjoy dancing and a good drink on the river like me?

I feel she has a story to tell.

Did it look something like this:

Carolinas Story:

It was a hot summer night in July of 1892 and the San Antonio heat did not let down.

Every room in the house felt like a furnace and Carolina couldn't take it anymore, she felt like she needed to breath.

 "Papì podemos salir a comer porque hace mucho calor en la casa, por favor!!!!"

Translate: "Papi, can we go out to eat, it's too hot in the house, please!!!!!"

"Ay, mija!" her Papì said "Si, Bueno, whatever my mijita wants, she gets..."

He took the family to Lerma's Café, where all the Tejanos hung out and it belonged to a cousin of his wife who owned it.

As she walked down the riverside, dreaming of all the dreams a girl can be, she closed her eyes and twirled as a slight breeze fell upon her face.

She gleefully opened her eyes and saw a young man grinning at her with dazzling green eyes that stood out like stars shinning brighter than the moonlight.

Being a good Catholic woman that she was, she immediately put her her head down, grabbing her pappa's hand as they walked.

Her heart skipped a thousand beats as she looked down trying her best to contain her pleasure at seeing such a handsome face, but her smile refused to hide.

San Antonio had been through so much during the past 30 years and the future seemed uncertain for her at this point.

But, one look at him and everything seemed so much clearer for the 1st time in her life...

Timoteo's Story:

Timoteo left Brownsville in search for something more. He was tired of traveling from place to place for work between the Coahuila y Tejas region which ranged from as far as Texas to Tamaulipas, MX. Life changed for his family when Mexico annexed Coahuila y Tejas to the United States. There was so much chaos and nobody knew what could happen next.

Families were divided and homes torn apart. Life as they once knew changed in an instant and he grew up hearing stories of how things were before all the war, death and chaos. One thing was for certain, everyone craved peace and stability which seemed to be no where in sight.

San Antonio was the "big city", at the time and the Americanos y Tejanos were building a lot of infrastructure - work opportunities beyond farming existed.

Ranchero life just didn't do it for him anymore and something inside told him that San Antonio held the keys to his future. Little did he know it had to do with a girl named Carolina Rodriguez. It wasn't until that fateful moment after a long day's work at rebuilding the Alamo when he and his friends went for a drink at Lerma's Café did he think beyond himself.

Lerma's was the place everyone in town went to connect & have "chisme" time. Most importantly, the place where he would eventually meet his future wife.

As he walked along the river pathway to the restaurant he noticed a girl twirling around in the wind - as if it were in the middle of spring instead of 118 degree weather. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he tried really hard not to stare. Looking at her curiously, he caught her coy smile as their eyes met and at that very second, everything in his bones felt weak. He knew from that moment on, his heart will never feel the same again.

Who was this girl who sheepishly smiled?

He studied her features in wonder. Her long eyelashes curled and he longed to have them look into his eyes as he gently kissed them.

He had to get to know this girl.

What family was she from and would her father accept a country boy from Brownsville for his San Antonio big city daughter? Would she accept a boy from the rancheros like him?

Her unstoppable smile as she looked down told him he had a chance... he just had to find a way to formerly meet her to win her heart forever.

The Story of Carolina y Timoteo...