Born and raised in Miami, Florida, 24-year-old Zaida Alfaro grew up with talent all around her. Her mother would get her and her sister Barbara, to sing in front of people at gatherings. "I did not like singing in front of people. Every time we would have a party or a family reunion, my mother would ask my sister and I to sing. I would be terrified. My hands would shake, and my heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest." Zaida's mother taught her how to play the piano when she was 12 years old. From then on, the love for music began. "I would sit in front of the piano and just play for my dad, but my love wasn't for the piano, my love was just listening to the music."

As Zaida became older, she spent most of her time listening to music and getting involved in her older sister's music projects. "When I was about 14, my older sister Roxie had a children's music project. I went to all of her dance rehearsals, shows, and the making of her music video. I admired my sister for the confidence she had when she sang. She could get in front of the camera, and make the kids feel alive with her music." Today her sister is singing Christian contemporary music. "She is so much more beautiful now. Her soul is at peace, and with her Christian music, she brings that peace into other souls." After her sister's success, Zaida thought that one singer in the family was enough. She never imagined that she would also be a singer.

Zaida began her music career when she began working for her manager and producer Rudy Ibarra. A month after they met, she inadvertently hummed a song in front of him and he quickly recognized her singing talent. After a session at the studio, the two agreed to work on a couple of cover songs to shape her style and further explore a music career as a solo artist. After Zaida had several sessions at the studio, her life took a turn on it's own. She began taking singing classes and would sing cover songs to train her voice and develop her own style. "With my love for guitars, I asked Rudy if he knew how to play the guitar. He told me he played basic guitar. Since I always wrote many poems, I brought them to the studio, and we started to experiment with the poems and some guitar melodies. Out of these experimental sessions came out the chord progressions, melodies, and words to Don't Turn Around, Without You and Wherever You Go. "

As time passed by, Zaida wanted to learn how to play the guitar. "I would feel so helpless, because I had so many ideas, so many poems, but I didn't know how to play the guitar." While visiting a local Café that had open-mic nights, poetry readings, and live band shows, she met Paul. He began to teach her how to play the guitar. "My first guitar was a gift from a friend. It was a used classical guitar, but it sounded great. Paul began to teach me basic chords. From there I bought myself a guitar book, and kept improving my guitar skills. But I still needed to improve my confidence to sing in front of people. I started going to open-mic nights with Paul and his band, and started to sing live. My confidence then started to increase."

After months of practicing, Zaida began composing her music on the guitar her sister Barbara had given her for Christmas. " It was the best present I could have ever received. My sister always believed in everything I wanted to do. She gave me my first writing journal for my songs when I told her I was going to start singing. Everywhere I went my guitar would be in the car. 'Falling' was written ten minutes before I went to class, 'Train Ride' was written on the way to my parent's house on the train, and 'This Morning' was written for my sister Barbara because she wanted me to write a happy song. My guitar was my best friend, and my voice to the world."

Zaida's lyrics portray the different journeys her life has taken her through. The album, like a train ride, takes you through heartache, hardships, falling in love, and happiness. "I decided to name the CD Train Ride because it signifies my train ride of life and the different destinations that I have been to. I want the people to feel what I felt, to see what I have seen, and to know what I have learned. I want my music to be the window to my soul for the world to peak in. It is more than just listening to the songs, it is…breathing in the words."