Luis Alfaro

Luis Alfaro (born 1963) is a Chicano performance artist, writer, theater director, and social activist.

• Growing up in the Pico/Union barrio of downtown Los Angeles in the 1970's was to be born into abject poverty and violence. And even that fed into telling stories and finding ways of surviving. I can see now that I was always a playwright, I just didn't know or have the language for it then.
  • On his eventual realization of being an artist in “BWW Interview: Acclaimed Playwright Luis Alfaro of OEDIPUS EL REY at Magic Theatre Talks about His Path & the Role of the Artist in Creating Change” in Broadway World (2010 Jun 14)

• I am often inspired by actors and I fall in love with them, so I write towards their strengths and gifts. Sometimes, it is merely about logic and making sense of the poetry in my head and how it translates that can be hard to articulate…
  • On the challenges of the writing process in “BWW Interview: Acclaimed Playwright Luis Alfaro of OEDIPUS EL REY at Magic Theatre Talks about His Path & the Role of the Artist in Creating Change” in Broadway World (2010 Jun 14)

• I call myself a citizen artist, because one of the things I do is try to get my playwrights — especially my graduate playwrights — interested in the world. It’s about how you connect art to culture and community here and now, and how we are vital to the expression of our community...
  • On calling himself a “citizen artist” in “The Artist as Leader: Luis Alfaro” (Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts)

• I like to diversify, so for me writing an article for a magazine is as exciting as writing a play. And I think if you open yourself up to it, lots of opportunities come forward that are not the opportunities that were going to be yours.
  • On staying open to new opportunities in “The Artist as Leader: Luis Alfaro” (Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts)