George Cabrera, co-producer of the Cuban-American play, ‘Amparo Experience,’ dies at 44
Miami theater producer George Cabrera absolutely loved “The Golden Girls,” his friends say.
Of course, millions of others shared Cabrera’s feelings for the beloved ‘80s NBC sitcom that focused on four older Miami roommates, one of them played by the late Betty White.
But Cabrera, who died suddenly at age 44 on Jan. 30 at a Kendall hospital just hours after attending a friend’s wedding reception, embodied that show’s familiar theme song, “Thank You for Being a Friend,” friends and associates say.
“I knew George for about five years and he was the kind of person that made you feel as though you’ve known him for 20 years,” said Miami trial lawyer Ralph Patino. “Extremely intelligent and soft spoken, George always had a smile on his face and was always trying to help people.”
Cabrera, namesake of Cabrera Consulting Group, had an office in the building that houses Patino & Associates in Coral Gables.
A golden guy
“He always made it a point to come down and not just to say hello to me, but to my assistants and my other attorneys. Such a great human being. Such a likable guy,” Patino said.
In 2005, Cabrera became the chief financial officer for ASPIRA of Florida, an education-based youth services nonprofit. He was its CEO in 2012 — reportedly ASPIRA’s youngest CEO — and remained with ASPIRA until July 2017 when he left to form Cabrera Consulting Group.
“George’s pride was in his commitment and leadership to fighting for equitable education for children from underserved communities within Miami-Dade. Rest in Power George, you were a true Change Agent for many young individuals,” ASPIRA’s staff posted on Facebook.
“George was a friend who was cut different than most, adored his family and shared my passion for all things retro so much that we briefly became partners and producers of NostalgiaCon a few years ago. He is single-handedly responsible for converting me into a ‘The Golden Girls’ fan,” his friend, producer Manny Ruiz said in a Facebook post.
Ruiz’s post noted Cabrera’s compassion and input — and “Golden Girls” episode viewings for relief and laughter — when family and friends had experienced some health challenges.
“Of course, all of Miami (and parts of the nation) will never forget the unbelievable legacy he created with his production of ‘The Amparo Experience,’” Ruiz wrote. “... He adored you all and will continue to unite all us. To George, we all say, ‘Thank you for being a friend.’”
At just 44, Cabrera was already considered an entrepreneur, a business consultant, a financial specialist, a theater producer, a music promoter and a community leader, his colleague, producer Deborah Ramirez, wrote for the family obituary.
Ramirez said that on his last day, Saturday evening, Cabrera was at the wedding reception of his friends Erik Rodriguez and Alexandrea Hess at the Pleasant Garden in Homestead.
“By all accounts, he had a great time, dancing and talking to friends,” Ramirez said in an email to the Miami Herald.
When he got home, she said, he felt sick and was taken to the hospital where he died of heart complications.
‘An artist’s producer’
Rodriguez is co-author with Charles A. Sothers of “Not Ready For Prime Time,” a play about the original 1975-1980 cast of “Saturday Night Live” that had originally been staged by Miami’s New Theatre in South Miami-Dade in 2014.
Rodriguez was a senior at Florida International University at the time. Cabrera was his producer. The play was poised for a comeback after COVID delays at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center, possibly in the spring, Ramirez said.
“He was very excited to get the play on its feet again. He told us that his dream was to see it tour around the country,” Rodriguez said in a statement released by Ramirez. “I take comfort in the fact that George was so happy at [the] wedding. He was dancing and smiling the whole evening.
“He was an artist’s producer. He knew, first and foremost, how important the art was. He felt like it was his duty to bring that art to his community and to the world. You hold on to producers like that. I just wish we could’ve held on to him longer,” Rodriguez said.
“He was someone special beyond words,” Miami businessman Luis Mata, a close family friend, said in a statement. “We’re heartbroken because he left us too soon. But we know he impacted many lives in the time with us.”
Seeking inspiration from his roots
Cabrera was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on Feb. 28, 1977. He was raised in Passaic by his mother, Miriam de la Grana, and his maternal grandparents, Manuel and Josefa de la Grana, “who, like many Cubans, left their homeland after the communist takeover,” his family said.
The Cabreras spent time in Jersey at a neighborhood Cuban social club, where a young Cabrera developed his love for Latin music and dance.
The family loves to tell this story: When Cabrera was in grade school, he entered a student talent show. He performed an Afro-Cuban dance and invited the audience to embrace his culture. After the show, the school principal reportedly told Cabrera’s mother that her son “was a leader who would accomplish great things. Miriam never forgot those words.”
At 18, Cabrera moved to Miami and earned a bachelor’s degree in international business administration from American Intercontinental University in Weston and his master’s degree in the field from Nova Southeastern University — the first in his family to get a college degree.
Proudest achievement
Cabrera Consulting Group’s clients included charter schools, business executives, theaters and artists. Cabrera was co-producer of the Broadway revival of the Tony Award-nominated “Frankie and Johnny,” which opened in the summer of 2019 at the Broadhurst Theater in New York and starred Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon.
Some of his clients included Latin musicians Roberto Torres, Eddie Palmieri and Cuban roots singer Albita. Last Halloween, Cabrera produced a concert for Albita and her band at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center in Miami.
His proudest accomplishment as a theater producer was “The Amparo Experience,” an immersive theatrical production that was held in Miami in 2019 that told the story of the Arechabala family that had created Havana Club rum in 1934.
After Fidel Castro’s government nationalized the Havana-based business in 1960, much of the Arechabala family fled to the United States and Spain. The story, written by Vanessa Garcia, traced the “family’s loss and triumph ... echoed in the experiences of countless Cubans who left their homeland to forge new lives in places like Miami,” the Miami Herald wrote in a preview feature.
Cabrera served as the play’s co-executive producer alongside Jim Kierstead, William Fernandez and Deborah Ramirez — members of Broadway Factor, a production company Cabrera helped start.
“The Amparo Experience” was intended for a two-month run inside a repurposed home in the 200 block of Northeast 17th Street, but the play was extended to nine months — from March to November 2019 — and had more than 250 performances.
“He was at the top of his game. And he was so happy with not necessarily the outcome, but the reception that the public gave the show. That’s what made him very, very happy. He was looking forward to do a lot of things like off-Broadway shows and so forth,” Patino said.
“George felt a special connection to a theatrical production that transported audiences to 1957 Havana on the cusp of the Cuban Revolution. For George, it was the story of his and countless other families that fled Cuba after the communist takeover,” his family said in his obituary.
“His dedication to his work, colleagues, and all who knew him was incredible and inspiring,” Kierstead said in the family obituary.
“His passing is an immeasurable loss to the Miami entertainment community. We haven’t met anyone who didn’t like George and we found ourselves blessed having him join our little Roxy Family,” said Sothers, who is now artistic director for the Roxy Theatre Group that runs the county-owned Westchester Cultural Arts Center. “He quickly became such a big force for the arts with us, that he has left a very large hole in our hearts and lives. And although he’s no longer a phone call away, he will always be a part of all that we do at The Roxy.”
Survivors, services
Cabrera’s survivors include his wife, Violeta Miranda; his sons Carlos Manuel and Nicholas Cabrera; his mother Miriam de la Grana; his sister Jenilyn Gonzales and his grandmother Josefa de la Grana.
Funeral services are 6 p.m.-11 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at Maspons Funeral Home, 7895 SW 40th St. in Miami-Dade. A Mass follows at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 4, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 14187 SW 72nd St. Burial will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery, 11411 NW 25th St. in Doral.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 4:56 PM.
