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.

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The Big Idea Balseros
In August 1994, more than 30,000 Cubans fled the dictatorship of Fidel Castro in the hopes that one day; the Cuban people would be free. This stirring memoir relates the harrowing tale of Alfredo Gonzalez,one of many brave and fearless Balseros to leave Cuba. It chronicles how an ordinary man, in his unrelenting quest for freedom,built and sailed his balsa into the dark and foreboding ocean. Rescued by the United States Coast Guard, he spent twelve months on Guantanamo Bay. Alfredo's journey from a sunburned frightened, but determined, man on a balsa into a confident and joyful person, holding a precious visa will pull at your heartstrings. The Big Idea Balseros gives the reader an intimate look at the indomitable strength of the human spirit.

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Cuban Balseros by Alfredo Gonzalez