Ana Magarino

Ana Dolores Magariño, lovingly known as 'La Chata,' to her family and close friends, passed away peacefully at her home on September 1, 2025, in Jacksonville, Florida, at the age of 95.

Ana was born on May 1, 1930, in Mexico City, Mexico. The daughter of Eduardo de Ceano-Vivas Sabau, an actor, and Amparo Blanca Rosa Segurola González, a retired actress and homemaker. At age six, she moved with her mother to the affluent Loma de Chaple area of Havana, Cuba, where she lived with her stepfather. She was an energetic child who loved skating, riding a bicycle, and playing basketball, earning the adoring cheers of her classmates as they admired her determination and skill on the court.

Ana was a woman of endless perseverance and enjoyed a long career as a licensed legal secretary in Cuba, a profession that reflected her intelligence and discipline. Though she enjoyed her profession, she found great delight in her creative and spiritual life. She filled many notebooks with her own whimsical illustrations, delighting those around her with her gentle humor and playfulness. She cherished reading all kinds of literature and favored books on spirituality and mysticism. Ana also wrote poetry and spent many hours reading her favorite Cuban poet and philosopher, José Martí. Most of all, she enjoyed theatre and cinema, having come from a theatrical family. Through every hardship, Ana was a woman of unshakable faith, which helped her endure many difficulties and helped her confront life's trials with quiet resolve and courage. Despite being born during the Great Depression, she was a person who was ahead of her time and accepted all persons for who and what they were, without judgment or prejudice.

She often spoke to us with fondness about all the things she had seen and done throughout her long life. Her favorite memories included going to the cinema, shopping, and just having good conversations with her many close friends from her youth in Havana. She often spoke of the honor of celebrating her wedding reception at the Cuban Presidential Palace in the early 1950s, arranged by then-President Carlos Prío Socarrás. This close friendship between both families endured for decades.

In September of 1971, Ana immigrated to the United States with her two young sons and her mother, arriving at Miami's Freedom Tower, often called the "Cuban Ellis Island." She became a proud U.S. citizen in 1996. For more than 25 years, she lived in Miami's Little Havana community, later spending time in Arizona, and finally settling in Jacksonville, Florida, where she lived until her passing.

Ana is preceded in death by her parents, Eduardo and Amparo. She is survived by her sons, Eduardo de Ceano-Vivas and Carlos Mandelaveitia, and her beloved grandchildren, Eduardo Emmanuel, Maya, Aisha, and Elijah.

To her family and friends, La Chata will always be remembered for her kindness, courage, creativity, and the love she poured into every aspect of her life. Her infectious laughter, her sketches, her stories, her immutable life advice, and her presence will be profoundly missed and forever cherished. She leaves behind not just memories, but a living legacy of love, faith, resilience, and love for all.