About Marta

Hola! My name is Marta Maria Darby, and I am passionate about telling stories.

Designer, blogger, Cuban cook, scrapbooker, photographer and mother of four, I wear many hats which may or may not include seasonal fruit (but that’s not important right now). I have been blogging for almost seven years – sharing my life, my culture, my family, and my recipes in my own Cuban-American style.

I tell the stories of my extraordinarily ordinary Cuban-American life. I believe in celebrating the “everyday.” Often. And well.

Some Background

I was born in Havana, Cuba. My family left the island on February 14th (Valentine’s Day), 1961. All my family’s memories of Cuba, B.C. (Before Castro) are happy ones. We still maintain many of our Cuban traditions and love all things Cuban, particularly the music and the food. I am the youngest of six. My parents, Luz and Rodolfo Verdés were married for 60 years. My family lived in Miami for the first three years of our exile. We then moved across the country and settled in California. My dad, Papi, passed away in December, 1999. But we have never lost our Cuban-ness. (<–Is that a word? If not, it totally should be.)

I live in Southern California with my husband, Eric in our cottage home with a white picket fence. I am mother to Amy-30, Adam-27, Lucy-20, and Jonathan-18, who were all born here in the U.S. They are extremely proud of their Cuban heritage.

Celebrating Cuban-American Life

This blog, My Big Fat Cuban Family, is a daily destination for hundreds of Cubans worldwide. Each day I get to weave stories and anecdotes about my very passionate and fabulous Cuban family and our delectable Cuban food. I get to celebrate the blending of my two defining cultures as I live life on the Cuban-American hyphen. I’m 100% Cuban and 100% American.

Marta’s Cuban American Kitchen was born online six years ago when I was invited to become a regular contributor to the popular Cuban blog, Babalú. I am pretty masterful (if I do say so myself) at taking the Cuban recipes that I grew up with and re-inventing them for today’s modern kitchen. (I also make a mean all-American apple pie, but that’s not important right now.)

In 2009, along with my online partner and friend, Carrie Ferguson Weir, I helped launch the popular Latina Cultural site, Tiki Tiki Blog. Many of my stories, recipes, and videos can be found populating those pages.

Ten Things You Should Know About Me (in no particular order)

I’m passionate about “all things Cuban,” especially the food and the music.
I talk with my hands.
I always wear perfume and red lipstick.
I’m fiercely loyal to those I love.
I find humor in pretty much everything, and don’t take myself too seriously.
I have homeschooled my kids for years and have a passion for learning and I read anything and everything I can get my hands on: Kindle, books, magazines, cereal boxes.
I’m a Reagan Conservative and an Evangelical Christian.
I’m a techie, especially loving anything with the Apple logo: Mac, iPad, iPhone.
I am the family historian – a job I take very seriously, therefore I scrapbook.
I take pictures. Every. Single. Day.

I Live A Lot of My Life Online