This 1938 home movie, shot by longtime Corpus Christi resident Antonio Rodríguez Fuentes, captures Fuentes’ parents at their ranch near Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico. Fuentes’ father rides in on horseback, while his mother tends feeds the chickens and tends to the crops. A proficient photographer, Fuentes takes note of the weather conditions during filming. He labels the footage of his father as taken on a cloudy, rainy day, and the footage of his mother as shot on a clear, sunny day.
Antonio Rodríguez Fuentes (1895-1988) was born and raised on his family’s ranch near Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico. He moved to Laredo as a young man, eventually taking up residence in Corpus Christi in the 1910s. He married Josefine Barrera, a Corpus Christi native, in 1918. The couple had five children: Ruben, Ophelia, Mercedes, Antonio, and Carmen.
Josefina and her family were respected members of Corpus Christi Mexican-American society. After her marriage to Antonio, the couple developed their own ties with numerous community groups, including the Obreros y Obreras, Alianza Hispano-Americana, and Woodmen of the World. Antonio also became an active member of several local chapters, holding office and serving as a delegate to out-of-town-conventions.