Sofia and Ale got engaged in August 2021. Ale set up an art therapy activity in which they each had to create a painting to express their feelings for each other. When they revealed their paintings, Ale’s painting read, “Will you marry me?”

Ale and I are second cousins, but we had not seen or spoken to each other in almost 20 years. Thanks to social media, I’ve kept up with Ale’s adventures. So when she got engaged, I decided to send her and Sofia a portrait as an engagement gift. Shortly after, Sofia contacted me on Instagram. This is when our super secret alliance and this project were born.

Sofia told me she wanted to propose back, and she wanted her proposal to feel like Part 2 of Ale’s. To achieve this, she would need to center it around the same theme - Art.

The plan: Set up an art exhibit. Ale would attend, unaware that all the paintings were made exclusively for her and that each piece represents an aspect of their life together - their relationship, families, hobbies, careers, favorite movies, important trips, and more. At the end of the exhibit, a masterpiece is revealed: a painting of Sofia proposing to Ale, completed just moments prior, in the exact spot and wearing the exact clothes to match the real life moment as its happening. Achieving this took extensive planning and several accomplices.

First, we needed to make sure Ale did not discover our super secret plan. Because of her strong spidey senses, we decided to keep my involvement a secret. Thankfully, super talented local Monterrey artist Pamela Lavin agreed to be an accomplice in our plan, and acted as the face of the art exhibit. She reached out to Ale for a favor - attend “her” art exhibit and film the big masterpiece reveal to be promoted on social media. Ale agreed. The venue for the exhibit was chosen and the big reveal was scheduled - November 29, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Flyers for “Pamela Lavin’s” art exhibit were created, and fake attendees were invited to make the exhibit feel more real when Ale walked in.

With Sofia’s help and some light Instagram research, I gathered ideas for paintings and got to work. I painted for 2 months - different sizes, different styles, and different mediums. I packed all the paintings in 2 large suitcases and hopped on a flight to Monterrey.

Days prior to the event, Sofia and I met at the venue to pick a spot for the proposal. This spot would be the background of my painting - and the spot our accomplices would make sure that Ale filmed the reveal from. Hours before the big reveal, our trusted paparazzi snapped a picture of Ale leaving her house for me to paint her outfit into the masterpiece. With 30 minutes to spare, I completed the masterpiece. Ale arrived right at 7pm, and we were ready. Family and friends were hidden in the patio ready to celebrate after the proposal. The “extras” were walking around admiring the art. Pamela was standing up front ready for the presentation to begin. When the painting was revealed, Ale’s jaw dropped. It was her. Standing right there in the exhibit. Wearing the exact clothes she had on. And as that was sinking in, Sofia entered the room. Behind her, a saxophone player walked in playing Sofia’s song - the song she wrote to officially ask Ale to be her girlfriend at the beginning of their relationship. It was a surreal moment.

But we weren’t done. After Ale said yes, Sofia revealed to her that all 72 pieces displayed were created just for her…and that Pamela Lavin wasn’t the real artist. After almost 20 years without seeing each other, Ale and I reunited.