Ruben Sierra(1946-1998)

Ruben Sierra was born in 1946 in San Antonio Texas. He was involved in theater at a very young age. He was a professor at California State University and the University of Southern California but he spent the bulk of his career at the University of Washington. He served for more than a decade there as the director of the school's Ethnic Cultural Center and Theater. Mr. Sierra was the founding artistic director of the multicultural Seattle Group Theater and also worked as artistic director for Teatro Quetzalcoatl and Teatro del Piojo. Mr. Sierra later went on to Portland State University and helped launch their Latino-Chicano program and serve as professor of theater arts. He was a prominent figure in the theater community of the Pacific Northwest and dircted several plays. He is also the playwright of "When The Blues Chase up a Rabbit" about a young Chicano fighting prejudice in Texas in the 1960's. In October 1998 the Chicano-Latino program held its annual gala in honor of Mr. Sierra, who was too ill to attend. Actor and friend Edward James Olmos was the keynote speaker.