Margarita (Maggie) Baranano was born and raised in Cuba, during what she calls, “the golden years of Cuba.” “People would come from all over the world to visit. It was like a paradise,” she said.
She grew up in a religious family and says, “God was living in my house.” Maggie’s parents taught her to always be respectful of others. She believes, “Family is always first.”
Maggie married and had a family of her own – 5 children. Julio was born in Cuba in the middle of the revolution. After the family moved to America, Carlos was born in MI and sadly, her third son Edward, died when he was just 5 months old. Her daughters Margarita and Ingrid (pictured above) were both born in DE.
Maggie loved being a mom and led her daughter’s “Brownie Troop,” as well as the children’s choir at their church.
The family moved around a lot because of her husband’s job. When she was in Naples, FL, she learned to speak English by going to a coffee shop to sing and play her guitar. She would also go to churches and assisted living facilities to tell her life story.
She started working at Barnes and Noble in Naples and would read to children to improve her English. She became friends with the store manager who convinced her to write a memoir.
Writing the memoir and her children are Maggie’s proudest accomplishments. She believes that God gave her a special gift of, “listening well and following her gut feelings in hard times,” she explained.
Maggie believes that everyone has a special gift and she doesn’t like to give out life advise but would rather share her story and life experiences. She says, “Never kill the soul of a person by your words.”
