Jesús Alonzo
JESÚS ALONZO is a self-taught Chicano joto playwright, poet, and storyteller originally from the Southside of San Anto, Tejas. In his writing, Alonzo explores issues of identiy as they relate to race, culture, class, education, language, immigration, gender, and sexual orientation. Drawing inspiration from his father and the Mexicano sensibility for albures (sexually charged puns, or double entendre), Alonzo enjoys using humor as a literary element for inviting audiences to examine the real life struggles his characters must face.
Alonzo is also the author of Jotos del Barrio and Miss America: A Mexianito Fairy’s Tale, also produced and presented at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in 2009.
Alonzo earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies from Carleton College in 1998 and a Masters of Arts in Counseling from the University of Texas in San Antonio in 2006. Alonzo is an avid runner/half-marathoner working hard to become a marathoner, long-time public school educator, bilingual education teacher and advocate, and a school mental health professional. He currently resides in San Antonio, TX, with his mero-mero-life-compañero, their family of two cats, Autumn and Pimienta, and his personal life coach/dog, Nico Spitzer.
Photo Credit: -JPL PRO- Julián Pablo Ledezma