Felipe Romero is the grandfather of Josefina Montoya. Josefina refers to him as Abuelito. Felipe is Josefina (and her sisters') maternal grandfather; they refer to him as Abuelito (Spanish for Grandfather). He and Maria live on a rancho outside of Santa Fe. They raised two daughters, Maria and Dolores; at the start of the series Maria has been dead for a year. However, Felipe has seen Dolores over the many years she has been in Mexico City, as he is a trader along the Camino Real (fully known as the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, as the name "Camino Real" applied to multiple roads in the Americas). Once a year and for many years, he has organized a large caravan from Santa Fe to Mexico City where they trade goods for things around the world to bring back to New Mexico such as silk, cotton goods, lace, iron tools, paper, ink, books, fine dishes, coffee, and sugar. This is a six-month trip and there are many risks on the journey; he says the trip will make him old before his time and every year is his last trip. However, this is made true once he brings Dolores up from Mexico City after her aunt dies and thus he has no reason to go down to Mexico City again. He is boisterous and exuberant; due to his many years of travels, he always has wonderful stories about events that have happened when he is on the trail, from sandstorms to robbers to wild animals, that his grandchildren like listening to. He cares greatly for his family and son-in law, and misses his late daughter quite a bit. He always greets his granddaughters warmly and calls them beautiful. By the summer of 1865 he has begun to make connections with American traders, including Mr. O'Toole and his son Patrick; he is later is invited to take up trading along the Santa Fe Trail from Mexico into the United States.
