Photo by Emma Pratte. Artwork on left by Erick Ledesma. Artwork on right by Orlando Quevedo.
ABOUT QUIARA
Quiara Alegría Hudes is a Philly Rican barrio feminist and writing makes her happy. Her plays and musicals have graced stages around the world, including Water by the Spoonful, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize; In the Heights, winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical; and Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, a Pulitzer finalist. Her memoir, My Broken Language, was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal and chosen for many Best of 2021 lists. Quiara’s debut novel, The White Hot, comes out in November. In addition to dabbling in film - she penned the animated Vivo and the screen adaptation of In the Heights - she has contributed essays for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Cut, The Nation, and American Theater Magazine. With her cousin Sean, she co-founded a prison writing program called Emancipated Stories. Quiara hails, as The Roots say, all the way from Philly, and the west part.
ON MUSIC. Originally trained as a composer and pianist, Hudes naturally incorporates music into her writing process. She has collaborated with renowned musicians including Nelson Gonzalez, Michel Camilo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Erin McKeown, Alex Lacamoire, The Cleveland Orchestra, and Bill Sherman.
ON MENTORS. Hudes inherits teachings from matrilineal mentors including her aunt Linda Hudes who composed music for the Big Apple Circus for 20 years, taught her piano, and introduced her to a wide swath of arts and music; Paula Vogel that monster of mischievous theatrical form who taught her playwriting; and Virginia Sanchez, her mom and a recognized Santera and shaman who taught her about the spiritual legacy of a Taína-Lukumí-Boricua. Are music, writing, and spirit teachable? Yes, just like lungs are born knowing how to breathe, but can learn new ways to integrate breath through musculature, observation, and practice.
INTERVIEWS
PLAYBILL * PEN AMERICA * HIP LATINA * LATINA TO LATINA PODCAST * THE NEW YORKER * GUERNICA MAGAZINE * BROADWAY.COM * THE BROOKLYN RAIL * THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE LA TIMES * A FRAME * DALLAS MORNING NEWS * 50 PLAYWRIGHTS PROJECT * THE INTERVAL * WESLEYAN MAGAZINE
SELECT HONORS
Pulitzer Prize in Drama * One Book, One Philadelphia * Tony Award for Best Musical * Pulitzer Finalist in Drama (twice) * Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical * Andrew Carnegie Medal Longlist * The Athenaeum of Philadelphia Literary Prize * Joyce Fellowship * USA Artists Fellowship * Ceiba Award * Pennsylvania Governor’s Award * HOLA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting * Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical * Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical * Puerto Rican Day Parade Grand Marshall (NYC & Philly) * Best Musical, New York Magazine * Best of 2021: Bookpage, New York Public Library, NPR, National Book Review & more * Best of 2007, New York Times * Aetna New Voices Fellowship * Clauder Prize