Ricardo León Sánchez de Reinaldo is a Cuban-American journalist, radio host, and author. After working as the lead local anchor on Miami's WSVN, Sánchez moved to cable news, first as a daytime anchor at MSNBC, later at CNN, where he began as a correspondent and ultimately rose to become an anchor. On CNN, he hosted a show Rick's List and served as a contributor to Anderson Cooper 360° and CNN International, where he frequently reported and translated between English and Spanish. Sánchez was fired from CNN on October 1, 2010, following controversial remarks he made on a radio program. In July 2011, Sánchez was hired by Florida International University, to serve as a color commentator for radio broadcasts of the school's football team. He worked as a columnist for Fox News and Fox News Latino, and a former correspondent for Spanish language network Mundo Fox. He hosted The News with Rick Sanchez on RT America for several years.

Guanabacoa is a colonial township in eastern Havana, Cuba, and one of the 15 municipalities of the city. It is famous for its historical Santería and is home to the first African Cabildo in Havana. Guanabacoa was briefly the capital of Cuba in 1555 after Havana was attacked by French pirate Jacques de Sores. This gave rise to the Cuban saying “Like putting Havana in Guanabacoa,” which is used to describe trying to fit something too large into a space too small. Guanabacoa was the site of the Battle of Guanabacoa, a skirmish between British and Spanish troops as part of the larger Battle of Havana during the Seven Years' War.