Chicago Mom Who Lost Her Fiancé While Pregnant Dies at 32, Leaving Their Daughter Without Both Parents

The residents of Pilsen in Chicago bid farewell to Paola Judith Zamora Rojas, a mother and internet influencer, who passed away on September 17 at age 32.

Paola Judith Zamora Rojas was born in Mexico on December 14, 1993. She immigrated to the United States with her family as a child and grew up in Pilsen, a Mexican American neighborhood on Chicago’s Lower West Side.

Zamora Rojas’s life was marked by numerous losses. According to DNAinfo, she had been three months pregnant with her first child when, in 2016, her fiancé, Gabriel Cisneros, unexpectedly passed away at the age of 22, and he never got to meet his daughter.

Cisneros’ mother, Diana Galicia, expected to see her son on Mother’s Day 2016, but he did not come; it was discovered later that he had overdosed on heroin and fentanyl. Furthermore, Cisneros, being an outstanding artist working at his parents’ cafe, was also involved in many murals created in Pilsen, as noted in the same source.

In the weeks following his death, Zamora Rojas started to do the shifts of her fiancé at La Catrina Café, the Pilsen coffee shop owned by his family, preparing at the same time for childbirth.

The café became a place where the Pilsen community gathered to support the family. Remezcla stated that when this shop was robbed in 2017, the robbers took a donation jar that the owners were using to raise money for their late son’s daughter.

Cisneros, Galicia, and her husband, Salvador Corona, established The Gabriel Project in memory of their son; according to Block Club Chicago, the project was intended to assist young adult artists. The article notes that Galicia and her husband closed their 18th Street café, where they had served for over six years in Pilsen, in September 2019.

Afterward, Zamora Rojas tried to build a life for her daughter, Olivia; she participated in various community projects and built her online presence, sharing pieces of her creativity and personal life with her followers.

Unfortunately, almost a decade after Olivia lost her father, she lost her mother as well.

The cause of death has not been stated yet.

Her family has established the memorial fundraiser to cover the funeral costs; any leftover money would be used to support Olivia and her future.

In her obituary published by Hann Funeral Home, Zamora Rojas is described as an outgoing, enthusiastic woman ready to protect her loved ones.

She leaves her daughter, Olivia Lucas Cisneros; her parents, Sandra Zamora and Juan Escobedo; and her siblings, Cesar, Yahayra, Martin, and Mason Gutierrez.