Catalina Byrd was born in Baltimore, MD in 1981, from that day her life has criss-crossed her in 28 years through the American experience on multiple levels enabling her to have at such a young age one of the most distinctive perceptions of America that you can't help but to be captivated by her. Catalina began writing poetry and short stories at the age of 3 - a technique used by her mother to teach her to read, extend her vocabulary, and practice various forms of structured composition. Since then Catalina has always written poetry, very rarely performing and refusing to consider herself a spoken word artist - Catalina would prefer to be considered an author and her work be considered contributions to the art of literature and not that of performance. Raised in an extremely politically active family Catalina was instilled with a very strong belief in civil service, activism, and voting by Republicans. As a registered Independent Catalina has worked in the State of Maryland for both Republican and Democratic candidates, passionate about what she believes in and unwilling to affiliate herself with either party as a matter of principle. Though born in Baltimore, Catalina and her mother moved to New York City when Catalina was 6 and the connection to both cities has remained with Catalina ever since.