Fana The Iguana (1990-2002)
Fana was an amazing experience that proved love is stronger than instincts!

For 13 years this unique creature blessed us and when she passed away...
it was on the same day (June 13th) that Paz and Aliah met many years ago and 4 days later set the wedding date.
They felt Fana's passing was a message from her.. to keep their union magical as the day they married on Oct 13th -
(after only 4 months of knowing each other) - and now they have been together almost 20 years.
(Maybe 13's are lucky after all - if we believe they are.)

"I feel her presence all the time. She can travel with us everywhere now..
she was getting so big we had to leave her home
with a sitter on most trips - she was a gift in our lives and continues to be." Aliah says..

Fana (which means "bliss" in Sufi) graced our lives with her Buddha nature and because of her -
Aliah first became known around Austin as the "Iguana Lady"
or the "Lizard Queen" for wearing her on her head everywhere she went.

In order to get her.. she had to prove to Paz that she really wanted an Iguana.
So, she wrote a song called "Fana The Iguana" and sang it with their band SOULER SYSTEM
for about a month or so - in the bridge she actually begs for an Iguana that she finds in a little store
when her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Finally, Paz saw that she really did want an Iguana and he gave in.
They went back to the pet store to find one that had come in that morning -
it was different than all the rest - much more colorful.
They found out later that Fana was Puruvian and maintained her green and teal coloring all her life.
We will miss her and have a memorial book that people who knew her
and were touched by her life - signed at Aliah's gigs in Austin.

She went to two Rainbow Gatherings where she was always surrounded
by folks happy to meet a magical dragon creature so calm and loving.

She was also the host/VJ of Paz & Aliah's first TV show "Wake Up and Smell the Incense!"
(between music videos her image would come up with trippy backgrounds and a wise quote above her head). Together, she and Aliah were on the cover of the "Daily Texan" and lots of press photos over the years and they did a Miller Lite commercial and had a bit part in a local Austin feature film "Ruta Wakening".. where the main character (a movie director) looks at Fana on Aliah's head and says. "I'm making the wrong movie!"
yet she was most known and loved for being the co-host of the
popular Austin TV show "Trippin' In Austin".