Hortensia [aka Tensia] Moriel Trejo was born in Del Mar on Thursday, Sept. 8, 1927. She was born in the family’s rented home near the corner of Cuchara Drive and 11th Street. The story of how her family got to that house is a unique part of Del Mar’s remarkable history.
In 1917, the Mexican Revolution was winding down, but Pancho Villa was still wreaking havoc. Tensia’s parents decided it was too dangerous in Mexico and rode horseback to El Paso, Texas. There, they legally immigrated into the United States. Her father paid four cents in immigration fees. It was three cents for her mother, and one cent for her one-month-old brother. Her father went to work for the railroad and worked his way from El Paso to Salt Lake City to Barstow, Calif.
While in Barstow, he had the occasion to come to Del Mar for temporary work. When he returned to Barstow he told his wife about this beautiful little town by the ocean.
Soon he took her to Del Mar, and she said, “Let’s pack our bags. I am moving to Del Mar!”And that is how our Del Mar treasure arrived 97 years ago.
If you have photographs, stories, or even books to share, please the Del Mar Historical Society at [email protected]
