|
|
| Anna
Maria with her special friend, Federico |
|
| Some
say the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as
long. Others say only the good die young. Death is
never easy to comprehend. To the Aztecs, death was
merely part of the circle of life. It was a continuum,
not an end. They believed that those who had passed on
were never gone but lived on in a different capacity.
For Anna Maria Arias,
41, the founder, publisher, and editor of LATINA Style
magazine, all of the above applies. She was beautiful,
bright, and dynamic, and although she lost her battle
with aplastic anemia on October 1, 2001, she lives on
in the minds and hearts of those who knew her, and in
the pages of her magazine. Her life is the story of a
woman who accomplished a lot in a short period of time
and who will be greatly missed. |
|
As a
child, she was shy. Born in San Bernardino, Calif., she was
the first of three children and the only daughter. At an
early age, Anna Maria exhibited her mother’s introverted
nature, but Rita Arias would have none of that. "I
enrolled her in dance class," her mom says. "I
figured if she had to perform, it would build her confidence
as well as make her more comfortable in front of
people."
Those early classes seemed to
do the trick. When Anna Maria was in the sixth grade, she
entered a talent contest at her school, without telling her
parents. Rita and husband Jess Arias, Jr. attended the show,
not knowing that their daughter was about to perform.
Suddenly, the announcer called out her name and she emerged
on stage wearing white go-go boots and singing "These
Boots are Made for Walking." Looking back, Rita
believes this event marked a turning point in her daughter’s
life. "My jaw dropped I was so surprised and delighted
at the same time. There was Anna Maria, strutting and
singing on stage. I remember telling myself, ‘wow, she’s
really come out of her shell."’
As a high school student,
Anna Maria was a leader. She won positions as cheerleader
and student body officer. On a trip to Hawaii she fell in
love with the state. Her mother says one day her daughter
announced that she was going to work for a summer and save
the money to move to Hawaii. At summer’s end, she packed
her clothes and left for the Islands. She enrolled at Hawaii
Pacific University and obtained a degree in communications
in 1987. Along the way, she developed a deep spiritual
connection to the Islands and would return every year. After
graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C. after winning a
fellowship from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
(CHCI) in 1988. |
