Mario Michelena was born and raised in Lima, Peru, but has lived almost half of his life in New York City, where he arrived as a graduate student. He works as a Spanish Interpreter for the U.S. Courthouse in Brooklyn. He writes in Spanish, and has published a novel, Las esquinas redondeadas, and a collection of short stories, Uno nunca sabe por qué grita la gente; the latter will be published in English in 2022.

Photo: © Ricardo Montoya