- "All right, why don't we play Best of Day?"
- —Mariana to Dennis, Mateo and Kadasha(src)
Mariana is a Hispanic-American mother of a mixed family from Oakland, California. Mariana was portrayed by American actress Natalie Martinez in the short film Battle at Big Rock.
Biography[]
Background[]
Mariana is from Oakland, California. A Hispanic American, Mariana was once in a relationship with an unknown (possibly also Hispanic) man with whom she had a son, Mateo. Under unknown circumstances, Mariana separated from Mateo's father and became a single mother. Sometime before 2017, Mariana would meet Dennis, an African-American man who was also from Oakland and the father of Kadasha. Mariana and Dennis would form a relationship and in 2017 marry and bring their families together as one. Sometime later in either 2018 or 2019, Mariana would give birth to Dennis' unnamed son, the younger half brother of Mateo and Kadasha.
Battle at Big Rock[]
Mariana and her family embarked on a camping trip to Big Rock National Park in Northern California. They would stay at a camp ground with other campers in trailers. Mariana had attended to setting up the table for her family while her husband grilled chicken outside. When everyone sat down to eat, Kadasha and Mateo began arguing with each other leading Mariana to gently reprimand her children. She reminded them that they were now a family and needed to look out for and protect one another.
Immediately after this, a Nasutoceratops and her baby entered the campground. Initially the animals posed no threat and the family watched from inside their trailer while Kadasha explained what species they were. Things became worse when an Allosaurus arrived and attacked the two herbivores. The male Nasutoceratops arrived to save its family from the predator. Danger seemed to be averted until Mariana's baby began to cry. She tried to sooth her child by singing a gentle tune when the Allosaur knocked the trailer on its side.
Mariana and Dennis awoke from unconsciousness not long afterwards and pulled their baby out of his booster seat just in time to save him from the jaws of the Allosaurus. Dennis defended Mariana and their children by swinging a metal bar at the Allosaurus. After setting her baby down with Mateo, Mariana grabbed a fire extinguisher and blasted the Allosaurus in the face with it causing it to howl and destroy more of the trailer. She and Dennis stood defiantly in the face of the roaring dinosaur ready to give their lives to protect their family when Kadasha shot the Allosaur's eye with a crossbow.
Mariana and Dennis embraced each other immediately after that before turning to spot Kadasha with the crossbow. Thankful to their daughter, Mariana called her over and she and Dennis hugged their family in the ruins of the trailer.
A news report would later recount the events Mariana and her family went through. This first major encounter between dinosaurs and man would come to be known as the "Battle at Big Rock".
Behind the Scenes[]
American actress Natalie Martinez portrays Mariana in the short film Battle at Big Rock. Alongside actor Andre Holland, Martinez was the only person chosen for the role rather than holding an open casting call. Series director and writer Colin Trevorrow was a fan of Holland's prior to casting him in his short film.
As state by Trevorrow, Mariana and her family being mixed (an African-American father and daughter, a Hispanic-American mother and son, and their mixed baby) was intentional. Trevorrow, a native of Oakland himself, wanted this family to be the main focus as it better represents most families nowadays (by 2019) in the United States and around the world. This is also in contrast to the previous films of the Jurassic Park series in which divorced families (namely children or relationships) were the major focus (as opposed to most media's general depiction of complete nuclear families).
Trivia[]
- Mariana as the mother of the family parallels the female Nasutoceratops. Like the Nasutoceratops, Mariana was willing to give her life to save her children from a ferocious predator. Also, Mariana and the female Nasutoceratops are mothers of young babies.
- Mariana has some parallels with previous Jurassic Park characters:
- Amanda Kirby. Mariana and Amanada are mothers of sons and a mother of a child who loves dinosaurs. Mariana like Amanda is an ordinary civilian not knowledgeable on dinosaurs. They both also are fiercely protective of their children.
- Karen Mitchell. Mariana and Karen are both mothers who care deeply for their children and both have a child who loves dinosaurs.
- Like both women, Mariana was a divorced mother.
- After Zia Rodriguez, Mariana is the second major protagonist of a Jurassic Park film of Hispanic descent.
- Although actress Natalie Martinez is of Cuban descent, Mariana's exact heritage beyond the cultural label of Hispanic is never specified.
