After Mama Elena’s death, Tita goes through Mama Elena’s things. What secret does Tita find out about her mother?

When Tita opens the box, she finds a diary and a collection of letters from someone named José Treviño. She discovers that Mama Elena was in love with José but their marriage was forbidden because José was part black. When Mama Elena’s parents discovered her love for José, they quickly made her marry Juan De La Garza. However, despite being married Mama Elena continued to meet with José. In fact, José was Gertrudis’ father. Once Mama Elena discovered she was pregnant with José’s child, she decided to run away with him but that night José was killed at their meeting place. Juan De la Garza remained ignorant of Mama Elena’s affair until the night Tita was born. He went out to celebrate Tita’s birth in a bar with friends and when someone revealed to him the truth of his wife’s infidelity, he had a heart attack. After reading this, Tita feels a new compassion for her mother who had been denied love. She swears on her mother’s name never to reject love.