Las Dos Rosas

A Mexican tienda nestled in the small mountain town of Sparta, N.C., serves the fluctuating farmworker population in Alleghany county.

“Here in Sparta, it survives by immigrants.” –Rosa Caro

“Here in Sparta, it survives by immigrants,” said Rosa Caro, the owner of Las Dos Rosas tienda. “We came from Mexico for a better future.”

Sparta, North Carolina, is a small town of about 1,700 residents. Nearly 11% of the population is Hispanic. Most farmworkers in western North Carolina are H-2A visa holders who travel from southern states and make their way up to North Carolina as they follow crop seasons. During the summer, farmworkers in western North Carolina harvest corn, kale, lettuce and more.

Seasonal farmworkers travel on a field in Alleghany county in North Carolina on July 27, 2021. The farmworkers are up from 6 a.m.-6p.m. with three breaks, 6 days a week (Sunday is off). Most of the contracted workers in this field are from Querétaro, Mexico, and will return home around December.

The biggest crop, however, is Christmas trees, which are harvested in late November. The Christmas tree season, October through December, is the tienda’s busiest time of the year.Caro says most of her customers are Mexican and Guatemalan. Farmworkers and their families will come to her and request items from home that they cannot find in other grocery stores. If the item is available to be shipped to her store, she will request it for them.

“They ask me, ‘do you know of someone who can give me a job,’” said Caro. “I do have many acquaintances who are leaders of the companies. I give them their number and it is a way of helping them.” Advertisements displayed on the storefront windows list job openings, numbers for local lawyers and other opportunities in Spanish.

Caro is from El Magistral, Jalisco, Mexico and came to North Carolina in 1995. Her late husband, Antonio Mata, opened the tienda in 2007 and named it after his wife and daughter who share the same name. “Las Dos Rosas,” is Spanish for “the two roses”.

“We came from Mexico for a better future.” –Rosa Caro

Caro took over the store after her husband died from brain cancer in 2014. She went from occasionally visiting the store to working full time, sometimes resulting in her not taking a break for months at a time. Her commute to the store is nearly an hour, and the store is open from 10a.m. — 10p.m. year round, with the exception of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Rosa Caro, of El Magistral, Jalisco, Mexico, runs Las Dos Rosas tienda on July 28, 2021, in Sparta, N.C. Caro came to North Carolina in 1995 and started managing the store after her husband died from brain cancer in 2014. The store serves the migrant community in the area, with a good portion being seasonal farmworkers. “I will always miss Mexico because it is the country we came from and it is something that we will never forget.,” she said.

“ I have to be here constantly because it’s my business and I depend on it. It’s tiring. I have a lot of bruises on my feet.” –Rosa Caro

Rosa Mata, Caro’s daughter, and her brother’s responsibility to help run Las Dos Rosas increased after their father died. “A lot of our customers in the store still remember him,” said Mata. “They’ll come in sometimes and they’ll look at my brother, they’ll look at me [and say] you look just like them.”

Rosa Mata, a student at Virginia Tech, poses for a portrait outside her home in Mount Airy, N.C., on July 31, 2021. Mata and her brother’s responsibility to help run Las Dos Rosas tienda in Sparta, N.C., increased after their father passed away from brain cancer in 2014. “A lot of our customers in the store still remember him.,” said Mata. “They’ll come in sometimes and they’ll look at my brother, they’ll look at me [and say] you look just like them.”

Mata studies at Virginia Tech and opted out of staying in the family business. “I noticed how much time was consumed inside the store,” said Mata. “I can’t tell you how many… holidays that were cut short or missed because someone always has to be there.”

Mata says she is grateful for the store and she still helps her mother when she can. “The story really survives on the local population,” said Mata. “The store gives them … a little piece of home.”

Rosa Caro is grateful for her life, but sometimes reminisces about what they left behind.

“I will always miss Mexico,” said Caro. “It is the country that we came from and it is something that we will never forget.”