René Ariza was a Cuban actor, director and writer born in Havana in 1940. Ariza graduated from the Academia Municipal de Artes Dramáticas in 1959, eventually receiving the Premio de la Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) in 1967 for his play "La vuelta a la manzana."
An opponent of the Castro regime, he was jailed in 1974 for his political views until Amnesty International intervened and he was released to the United States in 1979.
Some of his most well-known plays include "Los tres cerditos y el lobo carnicero," the aforementioned "La vuelta a la manzana" and "El banquete." His unpublished work was destroyed during his time in prison, but he continued his creative pursuits until his death in California in 1994.
Arenstein, the Host and the Executive Producer of "Focus: America," was a junior when he started producing the radio talk show. He majored in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Miami and graduated in 1976.
He is a native of Richmond, VA and he still resides there. He is married and has two daughters. He is the president of Arenstein and Associates, a real estate development and investment company.
