Coto Family
The Coto family’s history on Key Biscayne dates back to 1966 when Carlos met Marianne, whose parents, Alberto Fernandez and Ofelia Rionda, decided to settle on the island after fleeing communist Cuba in 1959.
Like most Cubans of the time, Alberto and Ofelia thought it was going to be a temporary stay and never imagined they were going to spend the rest of their lives in the States.
In 1966, Carlos, a young Cuban refugee and aspiring medical student, met and visited Marianne on Key Biscayne for the first time. Carlos did not realize he would be smitten by the 17-year-old brown-eyed beauty, but he fell in love with Marianne and Key Biscayne all at once – talk about love at first sight!
In 1970, shortly after graduating from the University of Miami, Carlos decided to put his medical school plans on hold for a few years and married his sweetheart at St. Agnes.
Since Marianne still had a couple more years before graduation, they were unable to stay on the Key and moved off for a few years, hoping to return one day. Once Marianne graduated from UM herself and started working, they had their three children – Kenneth, Claudine and Victor – and started working their way back to the Key to raise their family.
It took until 1977 and it wasn’t easy, but they did it.
They purchased their first house on Woodcrest Road from Dr. Oton Socarraz, the father of well-known local architect Deborah de Leon (Carlos enjoys seeing his cousin Deborah around the Key still today). They renovated their Woodcrest house and sold it, moved to a house on Harbor Court, and eventually settled on Island Drive years later. It was hard work, but it was the only way they could earn extra money to make their dreams come true.
All along, both Marianne and Carlos were tutoring kids on the Key, and Carlos was teaching night school. They were fully committed and loved the grind. After successfully selling a couple of houses and flipping deposits on a few Key Colony apartments, many of Carlos’s friends started asking him for guidance. Although he always thought of himself as a scientist and never as a salesman, Carlos decided to go for his real estate license given his personal success. Since Carlos and Marianne believed that Key Biscayne was the Island Paradise it was purported to be, it didn’t take much salesmanship for others to buy into their vision.
Shortly after, they enrolled their kids at Key Biscayne Elementary School, where they actively volunteered. They also got the kids involved in the Key Biscayne Athletic Club, where the couple devoted countless hours coaching, selling Christmas trees, making cookies for bake sales, and doing whatever it took to raise funds for sports programs. Back then, parents were the children’s coaches and referees and enjoyed being a part of a tight-knit community. Volunteerism was always important on the Key.
The kids grew up bouncing around between their friends’ homes on their bikes. They would rope swing into the Island Drive canals, ride the BMX bike trail and jumps next to the L’Esplanade Mall, and play beach volleyball at Pier 555. Favorite foods back then were the hamburgers and fries at the Vernon’s counter, the pan con bistec sandwiches at the Philips 66, Kentucky Fried Chicken family buckets, and (still!) Sir Pizza’s pepperoni pies.
By 1990, Kenneth went away to school in Washington. He was followed by Claudine, who went away to Vermont; and Victor, who headed to Gainesville. The kids all went on to earn MBAs in Chicago and New York, and to subsequently lived in New York for many years pursuing their careers. After all these years it was a blessing for Carlos and Marianne to see their kids acknowledge and appreciate how fortunate they were to be raised on this Island Paradise.
Kenneth married Katrina Gonzalez, whose parents Tony and Annie Gonzalez had also lived on the Key for 20-plus years. Claudine married Kent Knautz, a Chicago native who loved the sun and beaches of Miami. Victor married a fellow Key Rat, Sarah Benach. Sarah is the daughter of Benny Benach and Ampy Gutierrez, whose parents Raul “Monano” and Amparito Gutierrez were also one of the original Cuban families on the Key. Sarah taught at St. Agnes Academy and is beloved by parents and students alike.
After more than 55 years on the Key, the Cotos are a staple on the island. You will run into them at the beach, on the fields cheering on their grandchildren, or at local shops and restaurants. Carlos and Marianne struggled and worked hard to make their dream of raising their kids – and now grandkids too – as part of our Island Paradise!
