Alfredo Gonzalez was born 1966 in the city of Guantanamo in Cuba. He lived in Havana from 1980 until August 1994 when out of his concern for human rights and lack of democracy, he fled- along with 30,000 others in a mass exodus- to the United States. At sea on a balsa until rescued, Alfredo and fellow balseros were sent to the United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, and he remained under the supervision of the U.S. Marines for an entire year. Alfredo gained a U.S. visa and entered the United States on August 1995. He lived in Hartford, Connecticut for nine years, and then in 2004 moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. He is married , the father of four young children, and his expectation is to continue writing books and become a screenwriter.