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 19 years now (!) – sharing my life, my culture, my family, and my recipes in my own Cuban-American style. Also, I have naturally curly hair.

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

You can find me all over Instagram. Look for the hashtag #BeLikeMarta

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. I have 4 sisters and 1 brother. I am The Baby – in my family, that still applies.

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. And my mom, Luza left us in January of 2017. But we have never lost our Cubanity. (Is that a word? If not, it totally should be.)

I live in Southern California with Eric, my husband of 32 years, in our cottage home with a white picket fence, which we’ve named Casa de la Loma. Seriously.

I am mother to Amy-41, Adam-38, Lucy-31 and Jonathan-29, who were all born here in the U.S. They are extremely proud of their Cuban heritage. Adam in now married to the lovely Alysha and together they have given us our delicious grandson, Asher-10. Amy is mom to the delightful Sebastian-9 and he’s good at it (you may call him Bash). On December 30, 2017, Lucy married her long-time beau, Marc. She is now Lucy Jackson and mother to fabulous Maxwell Jackson who is now 3 and our precious Baby in Residence, Logan Jackson – he just celebrated his 1st year in October. Jonathan, our youngest, married beautiful Ariana in June and we couldn’t be more delighted to add her to our clan.

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 18 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.)

My Shop

I have an online shop called Marta Darby Designs where I sell some scrupmtious food posters.

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 love to entertain. Nothing makes me happier than feeding my people.
I’m fiercely loyal to those I love.
I have naturally curly hair.
I survived breast cancer.
I survived Covid 19.
I find humor in pretty much everything, and don’t take myself too seriously.
I have homeschooled my kids for years and am now helping to homeschool my grandboys. I 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.