Maria D. Garcia’s father, Jose Antonio Garcia, was 19 years old when Castro’s government put him in prison. He had joined a counter-revolutionary group, believing his country deserved to be free. He would not be released for 12 years.

He rarely talked about it. He was, by nature, a positive man. But there was one story he told. When the guards would come to the prison cells carrying rotten food or almost no food at all, the prisoners would look at them and say: “Even though I’m behind bars, I am more free than you — because I can say what I want, and I have done what I needed to do to make sure Cuba is a free country.” Her father kept that spirit alive for 12 years. He always believed Cuba would be free one day. He was always at peace, she says, because he did everything he could.

He was not alone. Her grandfather Anibal Garcia came to Cuba from Cofiñal, Spain with very little and built a life and his businesses in Santiago de Cuba. When the revolution came, he joined the resistance too. Her grandmother Dolores “Lola” Garcia waited 20 years for her two sons to come out of prison. The entire family paid the price of standing on principle — and none of them regretted it.

When her father finally arrived in Miami, he found his community and married Maria’s mother Maria Esther Garcia. Many of the men and women who had been imprisoned alongside him had settled here as well. They met regularly, telling stories and keeping alive their hope for a free Cuba. Maria grew up sitting beside him on the front porch of their house, listening to Cuban radio, reading the newspaper together. It was on that porch that she decided she wanted to be a lawyer.

The connection was direct and deliberate. Cuba had a constitution. Castro’s revolution ignored it. Her father always said that was one of the central crimes — not just the cruelty, but also the lawlessness and disregard for human rights. Maria earned her Juris Doctor from the FIU College of Law, became an adjunct professor there teaching health care law, and built a career at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, where she leads the healthcare law practice. Chambers USA has ranked her among the top in healthcare law for multiple consecutive years. Florida Trend Magazine named her one of the 500 Most Influential Business Leaders in the State of Florida.

Beyond the courtroom, she has served as President of the Cuban American Bar Association, President of the FIU Alumni Association, and a member of the statewide Florida Commission on the Status of Women. She is currently Chair of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and serves on the FACE Board of Directors. Her father lived to see her graduate from law school and to be an impactful part of her three children’s lives. He passed away three years ago. Her sons and daughter still pause sometimes and say: “We wish Abu was here. He would be so excited to see everything we are doing.”