By Juan Montoya
And so these words echoed 5,022 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in Sintra, Portugal, a resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains as Lynette Benavides and City of Brownsville commissioner John Villarreal tied the knot about 10 a.m. local time, 4 p.m. in Portugal.
Along to accompany the happy couple was a Brownsville delegation headed by the bride's aunt Cameron County commissioner Sofia Benavides, her daughter Justice of the Peace Mary Esther Sorola and hubby attorney Louis, city commissioner Rick Longoria and a number of other Brownsville luminaries.
And if you look closely at the photo below, that's Da Mayor Tony Martinez standing behind Cabler as Villarreal and new bride pass through the church door. Longoria is filming the entire scene for posterity as the couple approaches him (with the video camera).
Among those from Brownsville were city manager Charlie Cabler and wife Rosie, Brownsville Navigation District commissioner John Wood and wife Virginia and Ramiro Gonzalez checking out the historic restoration work on the frescoes.
(City attorney Mark Sossi, who was scheduled to go, had to attend the Greater BrownsvilleIncentives Corporation meeting and did not attend.)
According to its website, "Sintra is a resort town near the capital, Lisbon... A longtime royal sanctuary, its forested terrain is studded with pastel-colored villas and palaces. The Moorish- and Manueline-style Sintra National Palace is distinguished by dramatic twin chimneys and elaborate tile work. The hilltop 19th-century Pena National Palace is known for a whimsical design and sweeping views."
Overall, the wedding has been known only to a handful of insiders that have been able to keep the news somewhat confidential. Well, that was true until Longoria – a DJ used to preempt everyone with his microphone – got into the act.
He was still in the air when he posted at 4 a.m. Tuesday that they were in the air after getting one hour of sleep. Longoria and his date – a BISD teachers – apparently were put on a different flight because of some unspecified problem. It wasn't that long ago that another public official, Pct.2 county commissioner Alex Dominguez married his bride in Italy, her parents' country of origin.
We really don't know who of the two – John or Lynette – can trace their lineage to Portugal, but we would think it was the groom. We guess that tortilla-making is an ancient Portuguese family secret with the Villarreal clan, owners of La Milpa Tortilleria in town.
An update was made again the next day (Wednesday) by garrulous Rick where he marvels at the size of the king size bed (it is, after all, a royal sanctuary) that "ate my phone, hurt my back and helped me find my jet lag!!). Nothing like the hamacas in Southmost, hey Rick?
By now, after 10 a.m. Thursday, the happy couple is happily married and the party is probably in full swing.
Not a few of us wondered how our city folk were able to get together enough scratch to pay for the round-trip air fare, the accommodations and other incidental expenses.
It probably wasn't a trip sponsored by the Brownsville Economic Development Council in search of new investors or one sponsored by the city to explore the use of bike trials up in the mountains. After all, the BEDC has a history of paying for Da Mayor Tony Martinez's jaunts to Colombia and Central America every once in a while to check out tropical fruit.
There's gold in them there tortillas, we guess. (As in El Disco de Oro.)
The party will probably last long into the Portuguese night and all we can say is "viva o casal feliz!" (Long live the happy couple!)