Ana María was born January 24, 1954 in Chinandega, Nicaragua to the late Orlando Esteban Cáceres Rubio and Cándida Aurora Novoa. As the third of ten children, she helped raise her younger brothers and sisters. In 1967, at age 13, she left home to attend the School Our Lady of the Rosary, a boarding school in the city of Estelí established by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Hearts in 1950. Ana María stood out for her academic excellence, her love of poetry, and gift of oratory. She distinguished herself in poetry declamation and in her senior year was awarded first place in a national oratory contest. Ana Maria’s formal Catholic education, coupled with her religious upbringing, helped her build a strong spiritual foundation. She cherished her experiences at the boarding school and the lifelong friends made during those years. After graduating first in class in 1970, she was enrolled in the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in the city of León. While pursuing a degree, she served as Teaching Assistant to the mathematics professor.
She married Juan Bautista Cano on January 22, 1972 in their hometown of Chinandega. They remained married until Ana María’s passing, 51 years later. At the time of their marriage Ana María was 18, while Juan was 21. Some years later, Ana María opened a women’s clothing boutique which she named “La Chandelle” (French for “The Candle”). She grew her business while mothering four children.
In 1979, due to political instability in their homeland, Juan and Ana María took temporary refuge in Honduras before returning to Nicaragua. They moved to the United States in 1983 where they remained as expatriates for almost a decade. During this difficult and tumultuous time, their resilience reached new heights and in spite of all the hardships, their children enjoyed a magical childhood. They were surrounded by love and lots of family, including Ana María’s recently widowed mother, affectionately known as “Mama Yoya”, who was a model of faith, service, and maternal love.
It was during those years of forced exile in Miami, FL that Our Lady of Cuapa’s 40 year courtship of Ana María’s heart first began. Her mother, Mama Yoya, generously donated her and her late husband’s wedding bands to Sister Paula Hidalgo from the congregation of the Purity of Mary to purchase a pair of eyes for an unfinished image of Our Lady of Cuapa, carved in wood from the tree over which the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Cuapa, still unpainted. The same image would reappear in Ana María’s life in 2003, long after her mother’s passing.
In 1990, with the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua, Juan, Ana María, and their family returned to their homeland. Juan was 38, Ana María was 36, and their children were 17, 13, 11, and 8 years old. To support the family, Juan started a shipping agency, Jucamar, S.A., that specialized in ocean freight services to/from Miami, FL and El Rama, Nicaragua. Some years later, Ana María put her business savvy and creativity to good use, opening small “department” stores in Chinandega and Managua, culminating in an exquisite 2-story pink and aqua palace that came to be known by all as “El Picoteo,” (Spanish for “The Pecking Place”) where folks not only went to peck around for gifts but to bask awhile in the glow of Ana María’s limitless joy, warmth, and charisma. It was there that many lifelong friendships were formed and nurtured. Through their hard work and the success of their business ventures, Juan and Ana María were able to put their four children through private school and university.
In 2003, after a series of miraculous events, Ana María was reunited with sister Paula Hidalgo from the congregation of the Purity of Mary, who said to her:”Through your mother’s gesture of love, donating her wedding bands to procure eyes for the image of Our Lady of Cuapa so many years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary, today, wants to give you back your spiritual eyes so that you may see God in all His fullness.” This event marked the beginning of an incessant search for Truth in Ana María’s life. From that day until her last day, Ana María was committed to disseminating the messages of Our Lady of Cuapa, as given to the farmer Bernardo Martinez in Nicaragua in 1980. She and Juan were also dedicated to propagating images of Our Lady of Cuapa throughout Nicaragua, starting in 2005, when on occasion of the 25th anniversary of her first apparition, the first image of Our Lady of Cuapa entered the Diocesan Shrine in the city of Juigalpa, in Chontales, Nicaragua.
In 2004, Juan and Ana María became founding members of a Marian group of laypersons dedicated to spreading the message of Our Lady of Cuapa, known as the “Sentinels of Mary of Cuapa”. Ana María was an active member of the group for 16 years, in Nicaragua and in Miami, FL, only slowing down in 2020 due to the pandemic and later due to her illness.
In 2005, Juan and Ana María left Nicaragua for a second time to be closer to their children and future grandchildren. Their first grandchild was born in 2012. She brought a torrent of joy and light that would flood Ana María’s heart until her last breath. Ana María’s heart expanded with the arrival of each of her grandchildren. She lived to set the best example for her six beloved grandchildren.
In 2013, Juan and Ana María moved to the city of Maitland, FL. Their home is an earthly paradise filled with native and exotic flowers, mature oaks, fruit trees (mango, lime, orange, sour orange, avocado, starfruit, jackfruit, star anise, jocote, guava, zapote) that Ana María planted herself and her crowning glory, the fruiting vine of the giant passion fruit, “la granadilla”. She proudly named her paradise “MimiLito Ranch”. The grandchildren called her “Mimi” and Juan “Lito”, and she made sure to let them know that “MimiLito Ranch” was their home too. She was a devoted grandmother to her six grandchildren. Her days were filled with school runs, after-school “gallo pinto” lunches, laughter, hugs, movie nights, sleepovers, daily praying of the Rosary, and church on Sundays with the entire family. Her home and heart were always open to friends and family. She loved to cook for everyone who came to visit and always maintained and shared her culture and cuisine.
Ana María’s life was defined by her faith. She spread Our Lady of Cuapa’s message of love, forgiveness, and peace through her writings, her testimony, and her daily living, especially throughout her illness. Ana María used to ask Our Lady of Cuapa to steal away her heart. In April of 2023, moved by that love and following in her mother’s footsteps, Ana María orchestrated the restoration of a life-size image of Our Lady of Cuapa, with life-size eyes, which she donated to the Diocesan Shrine in Juigalpa. The new image was blessed by the bishop of the Diocese of Juigalpa, Marcial Humberto Guzmán Saballos, and venerated for the first time during a historic mass held on May 8, 2023, on the 43rd anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s apparition in Cuapa.
Ana María passed away in her home in the early morning of May 24, 2023 at the age of 69 after a courageous battle with cancer. She died peacefully, lucidly, surrounded by loved ones, and proclaiming her trust in Our Lord Jesus Christ with her last breath. At the moment of her parting, she was taken to the Abode of the Lord by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself on the feast day of Mary Help of Christians.
Ana María leaves us a legacy of unconditional love, joy, strength, service, and faith. She was an extraordinarily joyful and vital woman who faced suffering with hope, acceptance, and trust in Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.
Ana María is preceded in death by her father Orlando Esteban, her mother Cándida Aurora, her sister Leonor Gertrudis, her brothers Orlando José and Luis Antonio, and her nephew Carlos Esteban.
She is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Juan Bautista Cano; four children, Juan Bautista Cano (Anielka), Ana Lila Díaz (Ricardo), Karen Leonor Cano and Orlando Esteban Cano (Kelsey); six grandchildren Isabella Marie and Isaac Ricardo Diaz, Valentina and Daniela Cano, Logan Christopher and Lily Aurora Cano; six siblings Ricardo Cáceres, Teresita Beverage, Gerardo Cáceres, Aurora Rivas (Martín), Carmen Cáceres, Jaime Cáceres (Christine), and many nieces and nephews.
A viewing will be held from 6 PM to 9 PM on June 9, 2023 at DeGusipe Funeral Home. The funeral mass will take place on June 10, 2023 at 10 AM at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, followed by graveside committal at Queen of Angels Cemetery.