Alicia Alonso (Havana, 1920), an emblematic figure in the world of dance, trained in Cuba and the United States with renowned dancers such as Enrico Zanfretta and Alexandra Fedorova. She made her professional debut in 1938 and, since then, has danced with various ballet companies, including the American Ballet Caravan, the Ballet Theatre of New York, and the American Ballet Theatre. In 1948, with the aim of promoting the art of dance in Cuba, she founded the Alicia Alonso Ballet in her hometown, now the National Ballet of Cuba.

Throughout her extensive career, she has performed as a guest artist with numerous international ballet companies, including the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Ballet of the 20th Century, and the Paris Opera Ballet. In 1993, she began directing the Alicia Alonso Chair of Ballet at the Complutense University of Madrid, and she currently directs the Alicia Alonso Higher Institute of Dance at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid.

Remember that in addition to the Medalla de Oro from the CBA, which she obtained together with fellow dancer María de Ávila, has received, among others, the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris and the Anna Pavlova Prize from the University of Dance in Paris, both in 1966; the Medalla de Oro from the Gran Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, ​​in 1971; the Porselli Prize in 1983; the Gran Teatro de La Habana Prize in 1985, and the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic in 1998. In 2000 he received the José Martí Order, the highest distinction awarded by the Cuban Government.