Our Story

We first met when we both worked at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. We saw each other every day, but it wasn’t until my (Marla) last year at Scripps that we noticed and acted on our flirtation.

Lalo says I flirted first.

I would hope to catch him in his truck outside my building so I could lean in the window and hear his latest pickup line, but I know he would linger around in the hopes of seeing me walk past. We had a drink one weekend and immediately clicked. We shared our love of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Lalo introduced me to Mexican films; we loved grabbing Slurpees and then taking long drives and just talking. We became inseparable, but sometimes you love someone instantly and also have some growing and living to do apart.

In 2014, I moved to Michigan to be with family, and we quickly realized we were not suited for long-distance. In 2016, I moved back to California, and we cautiously decided to get back together. Some of our best days were cookouts and Modelos with our friends, searching for the Don Abel churro truck or an elotera, or just walking Beaumont in my neighborhood. Then Cornell University came calling, so we parted ways, but not affection.

During my doctoral journey, I traveled back to CA for classes and for Lalo.

We never doubted our love for each other, but our timing was still not right. Finally, in September 2024, through a series of long nights and conversations, we knew there was nothing more we wanted than to be together. Lalo moved to Ithaca two weeks later, both of us knowing we did not want to lose each other ever again. We are so grateful for the opportunity to keep choosing each other every day.

Lalo loves Marla’s…

• singing in the car

• spontaneous cuckoo ideas

• process of thinking through everything two times

Marla loves Lalo’s

• chicken tostadas

• ability to make me laugh every day

• love for her family