Alan Diaz is an American photographer

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 who won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography

Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography

The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, has been awarded since 2000. Before 1968, there was only one photography category, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, which was divided into the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and feature categories...

 for his photograph of the United States Border Patrol

United States Border Patrol

The United States Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency within U.S. Customs and Border Protection , a component of the Department of Homeland Security . It is an agency in the Department of Homeland Security that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to...

's BORTAC

BORTAC

BORTAC is an initialism for the United States "Border Patrol Tactical Unit". BORTAC is the paramilitary arm of the United States Border Patrol.-Mission:...

 team's seizure of Elian Gonzalez.

Diaz was born and raised in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and moved to Cuba with his family in 1964. In Cuba, Diaz became a teacher and began studying photography. He moved to Miami in 1978 and became a photographer and English teacher. He joined the Associated Press as a freelance photographer in 1994 and became a staff photographer in 2000. He is currently attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and double majoring in physics and mechanical engineering.