By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Oct. 11, 2021: Murdered Caribbean American teen, Miya Marcano, was remembered with a moment of silence at the 2021 Miami Carnival Sunday, that returned to a live event despite the pandemic.
Revelers at the Carnival observed the moment before the music started as a celebration of her life, Sunday at the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds.
Over 15 different Masquerade groups participated for this year’s carnival that drew thousands.
The moment of recognition came as her family announced that the 19-year-old Valencia College student’s funeral will be held on Thursday at 11 a.m. in Cooper City. A celebration of her life will be held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
In addition to the details of Miya’s funeral, the family announced the launch of the ‘Miya Marcano Memorial Foundation.’
“Miya is everything to her father and I, as well as so many people around the world. The creation of the Miya Marcano Memorial Foundation brings my heart so much joy during such a difficult time,” Miya’s mother Yma Scarbriel, said.
The foundation’s mission is to support, educate and provide resources to families of missing persons, while advocating for the protection of students and others in the vulnerable population.
“The ability to help other families and the opportunity to do my part to evoke change with the very systems that didn’t protect my daughter Miya gives us some comfort. Miya always said she would change the world, and we want to ensure her legacy lives on and helps as many people as possible,” Scarbriel said.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers the public donate to the memorial foundation at http://www.miyamarcanofdn.com
Marcano missed a Sept. 24th flight from Orlando to visit her family in South Florida, her family asked the Sheriff’s Office to check on her at the Arden Villas apartments near UCF, where she lived and worked.
During that welfare check, the deputy found Marcano’s bedroom door was blocked from opening by a dresser, which meant a roommate had to enter Marcano’s room from a back window, the statement said, adding that a responding deputy “noticed the window had been tampered with.”
Her body was bound with black duct tape across her mouth and tape also tying her hands and feet together on October 2nd. She was found wearing jeans and a bra, as well as a robe and her purse was found nearby containing the shirt she was last seen wearing. Her cause of death has not yet been determined.
Orlando Police have said 27-year-old Armando Caballero, a maintenance employee at the Arden Villas complex where Marcano worked and lived, was waiting for her inside her apartment Sept. 24, before he killed her and dumped her body at another Orlando area apartment complex.
Marcano, a graduate of Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, was in her second year at Valencia College in Orlando, pursuing an arts degree. Miya was the daughter of Trinidad born, US-based deejay Marlon Marcano, aka DJ Eternal Vibes and Yma Scarbriel of the USVI.
