Dolores Romero (American Girl)

Maria Dolores Romero Herrera de Montoya is the aunt and later stepmother of Josefina Montoya. Josefina refers to her as "Tía Dolores." Dolores Romero is the younger sister of Josefina's late mother, Maria. She is a tall woman with dark red springy hair, slightly ruddy skin, and grey eyes. She does not look like her sister in many ways. Her hands are bigger, strong and square; her face is more narrow; and she has a deeper voice that is low and clear like a harp. But she has the same laugh as her sister and laughs in a wholehearted way. There is a liveliness about Dolores and an air of intelligence, and she walks with long confident strides. While she is not exactly traditionally beautiful, she is uniquely beautiful in her own way. Her father Felipe says that she is quite stubborn--perhaps the most stubborn woman in the world. She is several years younger than her sister (and closer in age to her niece Ana, which makes them much more like friends or cousins than aunt and niece[1]) and wanted to be like her older sister growing up. She greatly misses her sister and Josefina realizes during the Christmas holidays that she was far away in Mexico City when she heard that Maria had died and must have been very sad and lonely in her grief. Dolores moved away from the rancho and to Mexico City ten years before the start of the series to care for her aunt, and at her aunt's death that spring, she chose to come back to Santa Fe to stay with her parents again. She learned to read and write with her late aunt--she did not know how before she stayed with her--and received letters from Maria (likely written by Andres) and learned a lot about her nieces from the correspondence; however, she had not seen or met Josefina before she returned from Mexico City and the other sisters were still children when she left, so only Ana knew her well and Francisca more has memories. She sent Mamá seeds from Mexico City which were brought on the caravan. Once, she took her sister's best sash without permission and lost it, angering her sister so much she wouldn't speak to her for days. Clara thinks of her as practical and hard-working (one of her highest compliments), while Francisca initially considers her to be elegant, though this fades as she works more at the rancho and Francisca becomes fussier about how she is more involved in the operations of the rancho as if she were the patrona. Tia Dolores loves music, and is good at playing the piano. She is a lot less demure than Maria was, and from her first arrival asks Andres about how things are run and operate around the rancho. She speaks up to suggest what to do after the loss of many sheep in autumn flooding, and helps him keep the ledger to know how many blankets they can make and how much they can earn to replace them. Tia Dolores is a good listener--Josefina feels that she really listens when she's talking to her. She is always willing to teach her nieces new skills and help them, but she won't do their work for them. Tia Dolores never wastes time. Unlike her sister, she is willing to get involved in the business side of the rancho's operations and doesn't mind taking over a weaving business, things that normally are left to the patron. Unlike her sister, she helps Josefina face her fears rather than only protect her from them.