In The Cendovian, Nadia was Marisa's overprotective mother. After giving birth to Marisa at age sixteen and her sister Zulia at age eighteen, Nadia was deserted by the girls' father. When her own father evicted her after Zulia's birth, Nadia took her girls and never looked back. From that day forward, she swore she would never again let a man jeopardize her daughters.
Hopping between friend's houses for the first few years, Nadia made her daughters the center of her world. She gave up dating and drinking. Everything she did was to support her girls. Nothing was allowed to distract her from her mission. She worked in factories in North Miami sewing clothes by day. At night, she worked various jobs for extra money. Eventually, her second job was as a personal trainer. After a health scare, training became her obssession and her outlet. Nadia had to ensure that she was always around for her daughters.
Being an overprotective mother, it was hard for Nadia to let Marisa go so far away for college, but she knew it was best for her. Still, she hoped all the warnings she had bestowed upon her over the years to not allow a boy to derail her dreams would carry Marisa through to success.