Luis Alfaro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Luis Alfaro
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Luis Alfaro at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, September 2019
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Luis Alfaro
1963 (age 61–62) |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
Luis Alfaro (born in 1963 in Los Angeles) is a talented Chicano artist. He is a performance artist, writer, theater director, and someone who works to make society better (a social activist).
He grew up in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles. He went to Woodrow Wilson High School in East Los Angeles. His plays and stories often take place in the Chicano neighborhoods of Los Angeles, like Pico Union. They sometimes explore themes about working-class people and different kinds of families. Luis Alfaro is a professor at the University of Southern California in the School of Dramatic Arts. From 2013 to 2019, he was a special writer at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Contents
Luis Alfaro's Creative Work
Luis Alfaro's writings, both alone and with others, are found in many collections. In 1994, he released a spoken-word CD called Downtown. His short film Chicanismo was made by the Public Broadcasting Service in 1999. He also helped with the 1995 film Pochonovela. This film was a funny look at Chicano activism and life in working-class neighborhoods.
Retelling Classic Stories
Luis Alfaro is known for taking old Greek plays and giving them a modern twist. He sets them in Chicano communities in Los Angeles and New York.
Oedipus El Rey
In 2010, his play Oedipus El Rey first appeared. It's a Chicano version of the famous Greek play Oedipus Rex. This play tells the story of Oedipus in a new way. It was shown in many cities, including San Francisco, Dallas, and San Diego. In 2017, it came to The Public Theater in New York.
St. Jude
Luis Alfaro's solo show St. Jude is a special play about his father. It tells his own life story and the complex relationship he had with his dad. The play starts with Alfaro going home to California after his father had a stroke. It moves between his childhood memories and the events after his father's stroke. He shares stories about growing up, working in fields, family parties, and even running away as a teenager. All these small stories connect back to his father and his own journey of finding who he is. St. Jude was performed in Culver City, California and Costa Mesa, California.
Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles
Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles is a modern version of the Greek play Medea. It first appeared in 2012 with the title Bruja. Later, it was shown at the Getty Villa in 2015. This play was also performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2017. In 2019, Mojada played in New York, but this time it was set in Queens instead of Los Angeles.
The Greek Trilogy
Rosa Andújar put together a book called The Greek Trilogy of Luis Alfaro. It includes three of Alfaro's 'Greek' plays. These plays are based on ancient Greek dramas by Sophocles (Electra and Oedipus) and Euripides (Medea). Alfaro's plays, Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada, show the concerns of Chicano and Latino communities today.
Awards and Recognitions
Luis Alfaro has received many important awards. In 1997, he won the MacArthur "Genius" Foundation Fellowship. This is a very special award given to talented people. In 1998, he won the National Hispanic Playwriting Competition Prize.
From 2013 to 2019, he was the Playwright in Residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This position was supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. During this time, the festival hosted projects to help develop new plays by Latinx writers.
Plays
- The Gardens of Aztlan
- Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Black Butterfly, Jaguar Girl, Piñata Woman and Other Superhero Girls, Like Me
- Lady Bird
- Bitter Homes and Gardens
- Straight as a Line
- Body of Faith
- No Holds Barrio (2004)
- Downtown
- Electricidad (2003)
- Oedipus El Rey (2010)
- Bruja (2012)
- St. Jude (2013)
- Alleluia, The Road (2013)
- This Golden State Part One: Delano (2015)
- Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (2015)
Screenplays
- Chicanismo (1997 short film)
- From Prada to Nada (2011 film)
Performances
- The Pikme-Up (2006)
