Mariana was born the 17th of July in 1955 in Santa Barbara California. Her parents were Rosalie Torres and Richard Garcia. She was the youngest out of the four girls. She worked over 25 years with  Alzheimer's and dementia patients as both a caregiver and beautician. Her little beauty barber, as she would call it, was the place to be for all the elderly. In 1979 she met the love of her life, Richard Medina and together created a life full of joy, love and beautiful memories. My mother would love retelling the story about their first date and how my father showed up in the ugliest green suit. She told me how she thought she made a mistake by agreeing to the date as soon as she came to the door and saw what he was wearing. She then would end the story by telling me how that night ended up being one the best decisions she ever made because she found the man she would love for the rest of her life. They later married and have raised five children together and have 14 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.