Hiya! In case you were wondering it's pronounced:
Gemma Pilar Alfaro
( HEM muh/p ee l ah r/ aa l - f AA - r oh)
Born in Long Beach, California, which depending on traffic could be a lovely 30 min
drive or much, much more from Los Angeles.
Writer & Actor.
I'm a Black and Salvadoran Woman, but I did Ancestry so it's a little more complicated...
With an absentee father I grew up with my mom's Latin side of the family.
I spent much of my young adult life finding out what does my Blackness mean to me?
Trying to piece together the half that I never knew. Finding home. Through storytelling, I
make a home so I can be seen in a world that never saw me.
This core value speaks to my ethos as an artist. In my work, I’ve always striven to
tell the stories of the communities and the cultures I represent, to be the voice for those
who look like me and have never been seen. My method has always been to push against
boundaries, to challenge the view the world has on me. It can be as simple as inundating
myself with the work of artists that speak to me or in my writing advocating for myself
and my communities. One particular piece comes to mind; I tackled colorism and I
segregated the audience so they couldn’t look away.
I will always align myself with those
who are unshakable in their values and not forsake those who are willing to see things
differently.
Make the ancestors proud.
drive or much, much more from Los Angeles.
Writer & Actor.
I'm a Black and Salvadoran Woman, but I did Ancestry so it's a little more complicated...
With an absentee father I grew up with my mom's Latin side of the family.
I spent much of my young adult life finding out what does my Blackness mean to me?
Trying to piece together the half that I never knew. Finding home. Through storytelling, I
make a home so I can be seen in a world that never saw me.
This core value speaks to my ethos as an artist. In my work, I’ve always striven to
tell the stories of the communities and the cultures I represent, to be the voice for those
who look like me and have never been seen. My method has always been to push against
boundaries, to challenge the view the world has on me. It can be as simple as inundating
myself with the work of artists that speak to me or in my writing advocating for myself
and my communities. One particular piece comes to mind; I tackled colorism and I
segregated the audience so they couldn’t look away.
I will always align myself with those
who are unshakable in their values and not forsake those who are willing to see things
differently.
Make the ancestors proud.