Yoani Sánchez was born September 4, 1975, in Havana, Cuba. Her father is William Sánchez. Her mother is Maria Eumelia Cordero. Her father worked for the railroad. Later, when Cuba's national railroads had problems, he worked to fix bicycles. When Sanchez was in primary school, Cuba was rich, because it received money from the Soviet Union. Later, when Sanchez was in high school and university, the Soviet Union had problems, Cuba lost the money, and Cuba's culture changed. 