photography by Kathryn Mayo

josé rivers alfaro is an artist who teaches writing and literature. Raised in Sacramento, California, he attended Cosumnes River College, the community college where he currently works as a professor. He earned his B.A. in English Literature at San Francisco State University, where he was first exposed to and shaped by Black feminist thought. Following he earned his Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Riverside, focusing on 19th-century American Literature, Queer Latinx Studies, Queer of Color Critique, and Dance/Performance Studies. Before returning to Sacramento, he learned how to dance salsa and bachata. Since moving back home, he remains active in the Sacramento Afro-Latin dance community, where he social dances with his partner. He continues to spend a lot of time thinking about how the social life of dance can influence the way he writes and how he can make the magic of the dance floor happen on the page.