ABOUT LUIS

Luis was born in the United States and relocated to his ancestors' homeland in Peru, a path that runs counter to that commonly followed by Latin American immigrants. While his mother pursued the "American Dream," Luis was raised in Lima by his maternal grandmother. His childhood was marked by "Jaranas," a Peruvian celebration of its black and indigenous roots. Eleven-year-old Luis was reunited with his mother in New York while maintaining his Peruvian heritage.

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Luis earned his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from the State University of New York at Albany. He is a cultural anthropologist who studies how oppressed and marginalized bodies communicate identity, embodied memory, and cultural history. His holistic development produced a global citizen who questions cultural labels, social privileges, and racial disparities.

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In addition to serving as Associate Vice President of Institutional Equity and Belonging at Wheaton College (Norton, MA), Luis is a Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Social Work/MSW program and the Anthropology Department at Bridgewater State University, where he teaches courses on diversity, race, and ethnicity, sexism, immigration, dance theory, Spanish, and Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies. He was a member of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Design Team and the Board of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA); a fellow at The National Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy; a student at the Intercultural Communication Institute; and a Visiting Residency Artist at the Duke University Dance Program. Luis is the historian and archivist for Perú Negro, a one-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award nominee music and dance group.​

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He resides in Providence, Rhode Island with his dogs, Pisko and Panka, and spends his time between Providence and Lima.