Vanessa Garcia wrote the story of rum.

Her play, the Amparo Experience, told the true tale of the Cuban family behind the real Havana Club Rum — and it became the hottest theater ticket in Miami, selling out show after show for six months.

Vanessa manages to grab people’s attention with her varied work: plays, journalism, fiction, non-fiction and podcasts. Even the pandemic couldn’t stop her. She wrote a radio play and another performed virtually, “Jenna and the Whale,” with my buddy Jake Cline.

And she’s a voice for Cuban artists and dissidents on the island that the government tries to silence.

We talk to her about her newest work, “What the Bread Says,” a children’s book about how an entire country’s story can be told through its bread. Plus an upcoming play that also involves food with the poet Richard Blanco.

Plus! An update on Carlos' Planchita and Amy climbs her backyard tree like an avocado monkey.

Find all Vanessa's work on IG: @vanessagarciawriter

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