Rafael Samuel Barreras

Rafael Samuel Barreras was born on a cattle farm in Camaguey, Cuba on February 16, 1923. Due to difficulties in transportation and communication, his birthday was not recorded until a year later, February 24, 1924; which was the date inscribed on his birth certificate. He was the youngest of eight children born to Aurora Lopez de Barreras, although one of his older sisters, Esther, died at age 13 from an epileptic seizure before he was born. As a little boy, Rafael acquired a life-long love of horses and especially for his favorite pony, "Coquito".

During his teenage years, Rafael became an avid New York Yankee fan and listened intently on the radio when Yankee legend Lou Gehrig gave his famous "luckiest man" speech on July 4, 1939, a few weeks after learning he had been diagnosed with ALS.

Rafael worked as a pharmacy courier, then an insurance salesman until he joined the Cuban Armed Forces, where he served as a communications officer operating a radiotelegraph system. One of his proudest moments, other than when his son was born, of course, was when his mother and his wife were present at a ceremony where he was promoted to the rank of corporal.

At the onset of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Rafael and his wife Margarita fled from Communist Cuba. Although Rafael had never killed or injured anyone while serving as a soldier, the communists were determined to kill or imprison anyone who had been part of the Cuban Armed Forces, regardless of how insignificant their role. With only $500 to their name and their clothes in a cardboard suitcase, Rafael and Margarita traveled to Miami as tourists under the guise of a vacation and were not able to bring any of their belongings or family memorabilia. After a few weeks in Miami, they traveled to New Jersey to meet up with a distant relative who offered to help them. Due to the immigration rules of that time, they were required to be out of the country in order to apply for a temporary residency visa and had to cross the border into Canada to await the processing of their immigration paperwork.

Upon obtaining their residency and returning to the U.S., Rafael and Margarita lived in the Union City/West New York area of New Jersey which had a growing population of Cuban exiles and came to be known as Havana on the Hudson. Rafael worked at several of the embroideries that the area was famous for, as well as for Western Electric. He became a proud "Papa" when his son, Rafael Lucas Barreras, was born in October of 1964 in Weekhawken, NJ.

In 1968, the Barreras family moved to South Florida, first settling in Miami Beach and a few months later, achieving the American Dream of purchasing a home in western Miami-Dade County. Although Rafael worked long hours as a machine operator in a tool manufacturing plant, he always made time to play catch and attend his son's little league baseball practices and games. Rafael also loved cats, and on more than one occasion, he rescued a stray momma cat and her kittens and cared for them until they were ready to fend for themselves.

One of the highlights of Rafael's life was at the age of 80 when he and his son attended Game 3 of the 2003 World Series between his beloved New York Yankees and his son's hometown team, the Florida Marlins. Unfortunately for Rafael, the Yankees lost that game and ended up losing the series, but that shared experience remained a high point for him the rest of his life as it will also be a fond memory for the rest of his son's life.

In his later years, Rafael and Margarita moved to live with their son and his wife, Kasey, in Central Florida. He never lost his wit and sense of humor. He would often be heard saying his trademark phrase, "Okay, Joe" and putting on a variety of hats, wigs, and disguises just to get a laugh. Rafael had a great singing voice and he had a knack for breaking into song at any given moment. Rafael and Margarita even sang for their son and daughter-in-law at the end of their wedding in 2009, to the delight of everyone who attended.

He leaves a legacy of hard work, happy times, loving family, beautiful singing, and amazing resilience.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 4:30 pm at Newcomer Funeral Home - East Orlando, 895 S. Goldenrod Rd, Orlando with Pastor Juan Garnica, officiating.

Visitation with the family will precede the service on Saturday from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm.

To share your memories of Rafael, or leave a special message of condolence for his family, please visit the guestbook below.