We have seen three romantic scenarios- one where the boyfriend requests permission to visit the girl at home, two where the father replies with an acceptance letter, and three where the fiancée actually starts visiting the girl at home. But what if the father-in-law did not accept to the relationship? Here is how it went.
Estimado Antoño,
I received your letter requesting permission to visit my house and to formalize your relationship with my daughter Rosita. I regret to inform you that at the moment, I am not in the disposition to grant that permission to you or to anyone else because my daughter is only 14 years old and has a lot to learn yet before she can make that step in preparation for marriage.
I want you to understand that I hold nothing against you. In fact, I like your family very much. I f you have a sincere love for Rosita, I am sure you can wait for about a year and then I will consider it again if you are still interested in the relationship.
Sincerely yours,
Pablo Castellanos
There you have it- the rejection letter for Antoño. After this he would want to get drunk for a day or a week, or threaten to cut his hands and kill himself, or curse the hell out of the old man and forget it all. But here is another typical letter.
Dear Marcos
You are sincerely wasting your time soliciting my permission to visit Carolina at my house. You will never get my permission because I know too many things about you. You have visited two or three other girls and break your relationship for nothing. It is clear that you are a playboy and do not care about girls’ feelings. One more thing, you have the bad habit of drinking and when you are under the influence of rum, you like to talk bad about girls whom you are dating. That is not a manly thing to do, and you are not going to have the opportunity to do it with my daughter Carolina. In fact, I do not even want you to approach her ever again or we will have to settle this matter “de hombre a hombre” (man to man.).
Sincerely yours,
Pablo Bolas
Trust me, many of these incidents did result into a huge fist fight, and the end of many relationships. However, if Carolina really liked him and was willing to go all the way, they would plan “an escape”. They would elope. “Me voy a huir con mi novio”, was the girl’s plan. She would secretly pack up some clothing in a bag and one night throw it over the fence where the boy would be waiting. They would live for a few days at a relative’s or friend’s house and then go to Belize City to try to arrange a marriage. I will tell you that 25 years ago, there were no teenage and unwanted pregnancies, but there were quite some cases of couples who eloped. But these girls were virgins until the time of the escape. There were girls who were rejected by parents for many years, until the magic of a baby got them reunited once again. Thus an unwanted villain could turn out to be the family’s hero twenty five years ago.
– by Angel Nuñez, Columnist
