In 1967, the 18-year-old author hopped into her spicy Auntie Eloisa's new GTO to embark on a road trip from San Antonio, Texas, to Tampico, Mexico. While searching for her baptismal certificate, Auntie shares the history of Narciso, a bold visionary who, in 1793, left an aristocratic life in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, to cultivate the 600,000 acres of land awarded to him by the King of Spain. As Narciso's story unfolds, so do the secrets of the two women. Told with humor and warmth, I delighted in Bernadette's tales of a cow greeting her while using an outdoor toilet, Auntie dropping her bloomers while dancing with abandon to the mariachis' music, and a "gentle" horse baring her teeth at the author before riding her into the river. This book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys history, romance, and colorful characters.
Bernadette Inclan does an outstanding job weaving two periods of history to tell the story of her life and ancestor, José Narciso Cavazos, one of the early Texas settlers.
Louise J. Privette, executive editor of Many Worlds, Many Stories: Inkslingers Anthology and author of Dancing Through Life: A Memoir