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Born in Cienfuegos, Cuba in 1956, avante garde artist Leandro Soto participated in more than 200 exhibitions and performances at both national and international levels. Majoring in painting and minoring in graphics, he received his degree in Fine Arts from the National School of Art in Havana. In 1982 he obtained a teaching certificate at the Graduate Art Institute at the University of Havana.

Soto formed part of the “Volumen Uno” art movement in Havana in 1981 and was the first performance-installation artist in Cuba. Along with artists such as José Bedia and Carlos Cárdenas, he is considered part of Cuba’s “1980 generation” of artists. In 1988 he moved to Mexico, where he established the interdisciplinary art school El Tesoro de Tamulté for indigenous children of the Maya-Chontal community.

Throughout his artistic career, he demonstrated an interest in religion, ritual, and the mythology of indigenous people. Along with his installations and performance art, Soto designed sets and costumes for theater productions.

From Mexico, Soto went into exile in the United States, teaching at various universities and advising theater groups. He is well known as part of the interdisciplinary and multicultural Latino art movement. He was a Senior Lecturer and Artist in Residence at Arizona State University, West Campus, in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance Department. Soto died in 2022.

Carolina C. Garzón was a Cuban educator and social worker. Starting in 1926, she taught mathematics in a private primary school and Social Studies in a private high school in Cuba and worked on developing new school programs, collaborating on a book about the topic.

In the 1950’s, Garzón worked as a Social Worker in Miami and Tallahassee. She also acted as a supervisor of the Pedro Pan program, which was a clandestine operation that from the years 1960 to 1962, brought 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors of ages 6 to 18 to the United States. Using the social histories of her clients, she worked on publishing a thesis called “A Study of the Adjustment of Thirty-four Boys in Exile,” which she wrote in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work in December, 1965 at the Graduate School of Florida State University. The thesis, eventually published in 2006 by Eagle Lithographers in Miami, Florida was dedicated to Pedro Pan children.

Mel (Melquiades Rafael) Martinez was the first Cuban-American to be elected to the United States Senate, serving as the representative for Florida from 2005-2009. Born in Sagua La Grande, Cuba on October 23, 1946, Martinez immigrated to the United States in 1962 at the age of fifteen, through what was later known as Operation Pedro Pan. This initiative, sponsored by the Catholic Welfare Bureau and the U.S. government, coordinated the exodus of over 14,000 children from Fidel Castro’s Communist government in Cuba between 1960 and 1962. For four years, Martinez lived with two different foster families in Orlando, Florida, as he struggled to learn English and adjust to a life away from his family and homeland. His parents and younger sister remained in Cuba, and his younger brother lived with relatives in Miami. Martinez was reunited with his family in Orlando, Florida in 1966.

Martinez worked his way through college and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida State University in 1969. Encouraged by one of his undergraduate professors to pursue law, he proceeded to earn a Juris Doctorate degree from Florida State University in 1973. Martinez practiced law in Orlando for twenty-five years until 1998, when he won the election to serve as Mayor of Orange County, Florida. After two years in this position, Martinez was tapped by President George W. Bush to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), becoming the first Cuban-American to serve in the Cabinet of a President. As HUD Secretary during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Martinez was responsible for overseeing funds appropriated by Congress for the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan. He served as HUD Secretary from 2001-2003. Martinez also served as a key advisor to the President on Cuban policy, and was named co-chair of the Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba alongside Secretary of State Colin Powell.

During his service as United States Senator (R-Florida) from January 4, 2005 until his resignation on September 9, 2009, Martinez focused on issues including U.S. policy toward Cuba, immigration reform, housing and the protection of home buyers from bad loans and predatory lending practices, the protection of Florida’s environment, and the modernization of the United States military through increased shipbuilding. He developed a reputation for bipartisanship by partnering with fellow U.S. Senator for Florida Bill Nelson (D) on restricting offshore drilling in Florida’s waters and with U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Barack Obama (D-Illinois) on immigration reform. Martinez was the ranking member of the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging and served on the Armed Services Committee, the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. During his tenure, his office assisted more than 36,000 Florida families through casework, written correspondence, and other efforts.

Martinez is the author of "A Sense of Belonging: From Castro’s Cuba to the U.S. Senate, One Man’s Pursuit of the American Dream" (Crown Forum, 2008). In his inaugural address as a U.S. Senator, he said, “I came to America from Communist Cuba so I might have a better way of life. I wanted to live the American Dream where if you worked hard and put your mind to task, anything was possible.”

Aldemaro Romero Zerpa, (Valencia-Venezuela, 1928. Caracas 2007).

Composer, arranger, and pianist Aldemaro Romero was an innovator of Venezuelan music, contributing to its increased visibility on the international scene. His musical career started at the age of 10, singing and playing the guitar on the radio program, La Hora Infantil. In 1941, Romero moved to Caracas and started working as a piano accompanist and composer with one of the most famous tropical bands in Venezuela, Alfonso Larrain's orchestra. In 1948, Romero traveled to New York to work as arranger and piano accompanist for the record label RCA Victor. In 1952, he began the famous sequel of recordings titled Dinner in… (Caracas, Rio, Buenos Aires, Columbia and Mexico).

The following constitute the most important achievements of his career:

. Foundation of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Caracas.

. The creation of onda nueva.

. Conductor of the London Symphony, English Chamber, Royal Philharmonic.

. Two Honoris Causa.

. Winner of the Premio Nacionales de Cultura in Venezuela in 2000.

. Winner for film music in Moscow Cine Festival for epopeya para Bolivar.

His most important works are:

Orchestra: An American Collage (1976); Canto a España (1981); Suite de las Tres Campañas (1983); Cuarteto Latinoamericano par Saxofones (1977); Requien para Bolival (1983); Tres Temas Venezolanos.

Songs: Amiga mia; Caretera; Cimarron; De Conde a Prinipal, De Pola a Pola; De Repente; Dona Cuatricentenaria; Dona Mentira; El Catire; El Negro Jose; Poco a Poco; It Never Ends; Retrato de Hombre Solo; Tonta, gafa y boba.

Other compositions: La epopeya de Bolivar (1969); Suite andaluza (1973); Oratoria a Bolivar (1975); Sute para cuerdas (1976); Ave Maria (1979); Cinco fugas para cinco coros (1980); Obertura Gintana.

Actor, writer and publicist Edgar Hay moved to Miami in 1920 and entered the local theater scene. Before coming to Miami, Hay embarked on a brief stage career and also served in World War I. Although he lacked formal training, Hay obtained roles in several musical plays, and returned to Broadway for a short period after the war. In Miami, Hay acted in plays and wrote newspaper columns about local productions. The Federal Theater Project of the Works Progress Administration produced his play, "Rhapsody in Two Flats," in the 1930's. Hay also wrote a number of other plays, articles and short stories, and held several public relations positions.

Hay joined an order of Freemasons while stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1918, and in 1920 "through the Masonic friendship of ...Frank B. Stoneman editor-in-chief of the Miami Herald," Hay obtained employment in Miami. Hay wrote his first column for the Herald, "Miami Rambles" between 1920 and 1924. During the 1920's, Hay also became active in Miami theater, performing with the original Miami Community theater and Parkway Playhouse.

From 1925 to 1928 Hay worked as publicist for the City of Coral Gables, and then resumed work with the Herald writing a column "Show Folks." Hay also worked as a copywriter and account executive for Loomis and Hall, Inc. In 1939, he left the Herald to devote full time to advertising and accepted public relations positions at the Florida Power and Light Company and Pan American World Air Ways, Inc. In 1944 he joined the Office of Special Information for the Air Service Command at the Miami Air Depot. After leaving his position as an associate of Arthur E. Curtis, Hay joined the University of Miami Office of Public Information where he remained until 1961.

William J. McEvoy (1901-1994), a native of Washington, D.C., worked as a reporter for United Press before joining Pan American Airlines in 1930. He helped to establish Pan Am’s government liaison office and participated in negotiations with Congress on U.S. Post Office foreign airmail contacts. He was the Assistant Vice President for Public Relations, Governmental Affairs, and Special Projects for Pan Am when he retired in 1967.

McEvoy was the project officer for Presidential trips abroad, arranging the charter of Pan Am aircraft to transport Secret Service agents, members of the press, and government officials accompanying the President and Vice President. He also made travel arrangements and escorted Congressional committees on official visits abroad, and planned christening ceremonies for Pan Am airplanes involving First Ladies, diplomats, and government officials.

Born in Central Zaza, Villa Clara, Cuba in 1943, Pedro Monge Rafuls is a playwright and the founder of the Ollantay Center for the Arts in Queens, New York and Ollantay Theater Magazine.

Manuel Martin, Jr. was born December 16, 1934, in Artemisa, Province of Pinar del Río, Cuba. He attended La Inmaculada Concepción Grammar School and the Escuela Pública No. 1 in Artemisa and later finished three years in the Escuela Profesional de Comercio. He left Cuba for the United States on October 27, 1956 and graduated from Hunter College in New York with a B.A. in theater and film.

With Magaly Alabau, Manuel Martín founded Teatro Duo in New York in 1969. This theater was dedicated to producing works in both English and Spanish, and Martín directed many plays for this theater. In addition to his theatrical direction, Martín is best known for his plays Rita and Bessie, Swallows and Union City Thanksgiving, the latter of which was published in an anthology of Cuban theater by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Madrid, Spain (1992). He received a Cintas fellowship for literature in 1985, the New York Foundation Award for playwriting in 1986, 1987, and 1991, and a Fulbright Fellowship for playwriting in 1987. His plays have been produced at the Latino Festival, New York Shakespeare Festival, INTAR and La Mama Experimental Theater. His play with music for children, The Legend of the Golden Coffee Bean, was included in ¡Aplauso!, an anthology of Hispanic children's theater (Arte Público Press, 1995). Martin was a member of the INTAR Playwrights in Residence Laboratory, New York.

In New York and in Puerto Rico he was instructor of drama workshops and gave many conferences in New York, Miami, and Paris. In 1992, he acted as translator and adapter for the program “Dr. Goodmouth” for Colgate-Palmolive, through the UnWorld Group, Inc.

Martín directed plays and musicals in New York, Argentina, and many other places. Until his death on September 28, 2000, he resided in New York.

Diego Trinidad, Jr. (d. 1980) was the son of Cuban tobacco entrepreneur, Diego Trinidad (d. 1946), who founded Trinidad y Hermanos in 1905. Diego Trinidad, Jr. grew up in Ranchuelo, Cuba learning the tobacco trade and took over the family business in 1920 at the age of twenty-one. After expanding business operations, Trinidad eventually incorporated the business and renamed it TTT Trinidad in 1958.

Diego Trinidad was at first sympathetic with Fidel Castro’s efforts during the revolutionary period. However, in 1960, Castro seized control of the company and nationalized the tobacco industry. The Trinidad family left Cuba for Miami in November, 1960 where they attempted to reestablish their tobacco firm. The Trinidad tobacco business went through many forms over the years, and as of 2002 manufactures the TTT Trinidad brand of cigars. In 2005, the firm celebrated 100 years of business.

Dolores Martí de Cid, Cuban professor and expert on Latin American literature, was born in Madrid, Spain, on September 6, 1916. As the daughter of a Cuban diplomat, she studied in many countries and became fluent in several languages. Dolores received her doctorate in “Filosofía y Letras” in 1943, from the University of Havana.

Dolores married José Cid Pérez, a prominent Cuban playwright, in 1939 and worked with him for the rest of her life on their studies of Latin American theatre. Dolores and José left Cuba in 1960, due to Fidel Castro’s Communist revolution, and came to the United States, where she became an American citizen in 1970. Dolores began teaching at the University of Kansas and then was a professor at Purdue University. After they left Cuba, Castro burned their 25,000-volume personal library, which included some priceless and irreplaceable material and which was said to be “the best library in the world on Latin American theatre.” Fortunately, their files, accumulated over 25 years, on Latin American Indian theatre, were saved through the friendship of a foreign diplomat in Havana.

She lectured in several countries, wrote many articles and books on Latin American theatre, as well as textbooks, and received many awards and honors as a result. One of her published books is Tres Mujeres de América. Teatro Indio Precolombino and Poesías Completas de Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda were also published by Dolores with José Cid as co-author. Dolores Martí de Cid, who devoted her life to the study of Latin American literature and culture, died in New York City, in May 1993.