Overtown Couple Plants a Tree in Memory of Their Unborn Child

Planted with the tree is the memory of the son they never met

For Lissy De La Rosa and Mauricio Ziniga, a special tree in Overtown means the world to them.

“Maybe when this tree grows there will be a lot of kids around that tree playing,” De La Rosa said.

Planted with the tree is the memory of the son they never met.

“This is an experience that I hope will change somebody else’s life,” Ziniga said.

In October, 36 weeks into her pregnancy, De La Rosa noticed her baby had stopped moving. So, she rushed to the hospital, where she got the news that her unborn child had passed away. She said the baby was so busy inside her womb, he wrapped the umbilical cord around his neck and then into a knot. Doctors told her it was rare for the umbilical cord to get knotted like that. The couple had named the baby Leonardo Enrique.

“Even though this happened to us, and it is our first child together there is hope, and we want to have more children and we will,” she said.

The couple live in a high-rise next to the park, which is being built on the old Miami Arena site. Overtown activist Brad Knoefler has been working on creating an inexpensive park on site. A couple of weeks ago, neighbors suggested they go to the park and plant a tree in their son’s memory. The couple went to the park and ran into Knoefler, who immediately granted their wish.

“Of course we obliged … He picked a live oak a strong tree we planted it with a view of the balcony and for me it's so touching because this thing we did actually changed someone’s lives,” Knoefler said.

De La Rosa said the tree “symbol of hope and optimism.”

The couple looks at it from their condo as they sip their morning coffee, Ziniga said.

They are optimistic that one day they will have another child.

“We need to wait until I heal, and we heal as a couple. I know right now we will have a little angel watching us and taking care of his little brother or sister that is coming one day,” De La Rosa said.

Contact Us