Cynthia Carris Alonso Author

Cynthia Carris Alonso is an acclaimed photographer, a writer, and the author of Passage to Cuba. Since 1992, she has regularly traveled to Cuba, documenting its news, musicians, and culture for music recording companies and publications such as Newsweek, Vanity Fair, BusinessWeek, and People en Español. Alonso has appeared as a Cuba consultant on national television, in print, and on radio. Her images have exhibited throughout the United States and in Canada and Brazil. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Valerie Feigen is a self-taught chef who previously worked as a lawyer, stock analyst, and co-owner of Edit, a women’s fashion specialty store. At age seventeen, Feigen professionally baked and sold her buttercrunch candy to food stores in New York City and Philadelphia. Feigen writes the blog recipistsdiary.com and each entry includes a memory and one or more of her original recipes. Feigen and Cynthia Carris Alonso met when they were five years old and have been friends ever since. Feigen was the inspiration for Marisa Tomei’s character in The Big Short. She lives in New York City.

José Luis Alonso is a teacher, writer, and award-winning children’s book author of Secretos con mi Almohada, published in Cuba in 1980. Alonso was born in Cuba and met Cynthia Carris Alonso, now his wife, in Havana. Together, the couple has collaborated on numerous lectures and exhibits to celebrate Cuban culture. Prior to working in academia, Alonso was a chef and restaurant manager. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.