Vanessa Garcia, Award-Winning Author, Reclaims the Cuban-American Voice: Unfiltered, Unapologetic, and Armed with Truth
Vanessa Garcia
Never the Empty Nest
Through her work, Garcia is dismantling decades of propaganda and finally telling the story her community has been denied the right to share.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, June 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Vanessa Garcia, an award-winning author, is on a mission to reclaim the Cuban-American narrative, one that has too often been distorted, silenced, or flattened by propaganda and outside perspectives. Her celebrated children’s book, What the Bread Says, is more than a family story; it’s a rallying cry for truth, freedom of voice, and the right to be represented authentically.
To purchase a copy of Garcia's award-winning children's book, What the Bread Says, click here: https://bit.ly/43N03GI
“It truly feels as though my story has not been told. I am Cuban-American, and while there are a great many narratives that include Cuban-Americans out in the mainstream, not many, if any, feel true to me,” says Garcia.
A proud Cuban-American, Garcia wrote What the Bread Says to honor her grandfather, who fled three totalitarian regimes: Franco’s Spain, Hitler’s Europe, and Castro’s Cuba, in pursuit of freedom. But beyond the personal, the book is profoundly political, giving voice to generations of Cuban-Americans whose stories have been co-opted or ignored.
“Where there is no freedom, there is no story,” she says. “In Cuba, if you speak against the official narrative, you risk prison, psychological abuse, or worse. And that suppression leaks into the global story. It distorts how the world sees us.”
Through What the Bread Says, Garcia reclaims the Cuban-American voice, unfiltered, unapologetic, and rooted in lived experience. As a writer, playwright, and co-founder of a storytelling company focused on misrepresented communities, she has made it her life’s work to challenge clichés and correct false narratives. This tension between controlled spectacle and grassroots resistance reflects the very struggle Garcia writes about, the fight for free expression, for truth, and for the right to tell one’s own story.
On Saturday, June 14, 2025, President Donald Trump held a military parade in celebration of his 79th birthday. At the same time, millions of Americans took to the streets in protest, voicing opposition to the parade and denouncing the mass deportations occurring across the country.
“In a democracy, that’s messy,” Garcia says. “But it’s also beautiful, because it means no single voice controls the narrative.”
The dilution of the Cuban-American voice remains a persistent issue in American culture. Films like The Wasp Network fail to tell the whole story, and even celebrated productions such as Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway offer a veiled, sanitized version of the Cuban experience.
“It’s wonderful to see my people on stage,” Garcia says, “but the story feels filtered, as if those telling it weren’t free to speak fully. If the artists behind these works aren’t free to tell the truth, the work itself becomes suspect. I want to change that.”
Garcia’s message is clear: the Cuban-American story deserves to be told, not through propaganda or stereotype, but through the authentic voices of those who lived it.
Garcia understands that the story of her people is complex and varied and feels a deep responsibility to challenge and dismantle the clichés and untruths that have long misrepresented the Cuban-American experience.
“I wrote What the Bread Says for this reason. I am writing the story of my grandfather for this reason. I’ve written about the Pedro Pan children, those who were airlifted out of Cuba in the largest exodus of unaccompanied youth, for this reason. I tell all of these stories because I have to. Because they have yet to see the true light of the mainstream. And that’s what I’m here to do.
About the Author:
Vanessa Garcia is a Cuban-American author, playwright, and journalist. Her writing has appeared in The LA Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, and beyond. Her children’s book, What the Bread Says, tells the story of her grandfather’s flight from oppression and the legacy of freedom he passed down to her. Through books, plays, and media, Garcia is dedicated to amplifying voices that have been erased or distorted, starting with her own.
Website: https://www.vanessagarcia.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanessagarciawriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-garcia-9204b918/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessagarciawriter/
Email: vanessa.thekrane@gmail.com
Amanda Kent
Boundless Media USA
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