Juliana Burgos was not afraid to take charge of her life. She moved more than 3,000 miles from her childhood home to live out her dreams and eventually marry the man she’d been in love with since she was 6 years old.
“She asked me to marry her,” said Efrain Ulices Juliao, her husband of nine years. “If she knew what she wanted, she’d go after it. And I guess that included me,” he added with a laugh.
Mr. Juliao, who lives in Atlanta, said his wife was the source of all kinds of laughter, including her insistence on keeping her maiden name because his last name was so close to her first name.
“She said to me, ‘What? And then I’ll be Juliana Juliao?’” he said, still laughing.
Ms. Burgos did her best to keep her husband and their friends laughing and smiling, even after she was diagnosed with acute myloid leukemia, an aggressive form of cancer, in May 2011. She spent the next 13 months in and out of the hospital as her health sometimes seemed to improve, only to decline again.
Martha Juliana "Gigi" Burgos Henao, known as Juliana by all, of Atlanta, died Tuesday at Emory University Hospital from complications of cancer. She was 34. Her body was cremated, and a memorial mass was held Saturday at the Catholic Church of St. Monica, Duluth. Bill Head Funeral Homes and Crematory, Duluth, was in charge.
Ms. Burgos was born and reared in Bogota, Colombia, where her parents and Mr. Juliao’s parents were good friends. She knew long before he did that they would end up together, Mr. Juliao said.
“I will never forget her mom showing me all of these pictures she had of me when she was a kid,” he said. “And then when I was engaged to be married, and I took my fiancée to Bogota to meet my family, Juliana pulled me aside and told me I was making a big mistake. It was all funny at the time, but, I guess she knew what she was talking about.”
Ms. Burgos earned a journalism degree from a school in Bogota, where she also was part of a television program that focused on entertainment news. She came to the United States to cover the Latin Grammy awards ceremony, 12 years ago, but decided to stay, learn English, and go to school, her husband said.
Because of her experiences in television, Ms. Burgos knew her way around a make-up table. She decided her next big career move would be to become a professional make-up artist. She took classes and eventually landed her dream job of working at the Netherworld Haunted House in Norcross during the 2011 Halloween season.
“The first time she saw those masks, she said she wanted to work there,” her husband said. “And even as sick as she was, she enjoyed every minute of it.”
Cindy Isaf, a friend of the couple, said the Netherworld job, “put so much life into Juliana.”
“She had such a fighting spirit,” Mrs. Isaf said. “And I know she was planning on beating this diagnosis, because a few weeks ago she was talking about working on her monster [mask] for next year at Netherworld.”
Ms. Burgos’ determination was an inspiration to everyone she came in contact with, friend Ann-Mary Johnson said.
“She never gave up and she always wanted to be better," Ms. Johnson said. “She could also be very transparent. She wasn’t afraid to show her weaknesses, and that made me love her even more.”
Ms. Johnson, who took make-up classes with Ms. Burgos, said she will always treasure the chance meeting they had during that class.
“You never know who you are going to meet,” she said. “You have no idea who they are going to be to you, or how long they are going to be with you. You’ve got to make the best of all of that time.”
In addition to her husband, Ms. Burgos is survived by her stepson Cristian Juliao of Duluth; mother, Stella Henao of Bogota; brother, Guillermo Federico Burgos Henao of Bogota; and sister, Maria Eugenia Burgos Henao of Bogota.
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