Is Granddadding as Rad as They Say?
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
This originally ran in How We Dad Now. You can read the other stories in the package here, as well as in our Summer 2022 issue.
"I'm about to be the father of the bride times three," Andy García says about his summer plans. Two of the actor and his wife Marivi's four children, Daniella and Dominik, are getting married. Daniella recently gave birth to a baby girl; both she and Dominik live near their parents in Los Angeles. Another daughter, Alessandra, lives in New York, and their son, Andrés, lives in New Orleans. "Marivi and I are back to making pureed vegetables and compotas and changing diapers," García says.
Plus, he's starring in the title role of the Father of the Bride remake, out now. He plays Billy Herrera, a Miami architect and a rule-the-roost patriarch in the antiquated mold who strongly disapproves of his daughter's fiancé, a billionaire heir who, among other perceived transgressions, dared to propose without first seeking Billy's permission. To say the least, Billy is unmoored by this development. "I'm definitely more modern and more open," García says, comparing his and Billy's approaches to parenting. "Alessandra came to a screening and told me, 'Dad, you are nothing like that guy.' "
As for García's approach, his North Star has always been his father, a distinguished attorney in prerevolutionary Havana who fled with his family to Miami in the early sixties and went on to build a successful fragrance business. "My dad was someone who would defend his family and friends at all costs," García says. "I am a product of the bravery of people like him and my mother, people who had everything taken from them and had to make their way in a completely new world." García's parents taught him that the key to raising kids is living by your word. "Never forget that kids are sponges for both the good and the bad," he says. You can impart all the values you wish, but "if it doesn't ring true, your children will be the first to tell you, 'Don't hit me with that shit, Dad.' "
When García and I speak, the family is getting ready for Daniella's bridal shower. Alessandra is already in town. "The house still fills up from time to time, but then you wake up one morning and realize they are all gone again, and it gets very quiet," García says. "It takes some getting used to."
Gabe Ulla is the coauthor of David Chang's best-selling memoir, Eat a Peach. He lives in New York City.
You Might Also Like
