Marie Canaves came to the U.S. from Cuba at age 7, when her family fled the Communist Revolution. Marie had trouble adjusting to America. She grew up to become a visual artist, focusing most of her art on the human figure. Then, in 2013 her parents died within a month of each other and soon after, her brother discovered a family treasure that her parents had saved from their time as exiles. This inspired Marie to explore her Cuban heritage in her art for the first time, and with it, her identity.