ABOUT LUIS

Following an opposite path to the one often trailed by Latin American immigrants, Luis F. Paredes was born in the United States and relocated to his ancestral homeland in Peru. While his mother was determined to seek out the "American Dream," Luis was growing up in Lima under the care of his maternal grandmother. His childhood was marked by "Jaranas," a celebration of the black and indigenous roots of the Peruvian nation. Holding on to his Peruvian culture, Luis was reunited with his mother in New York at the age of eleven.

Dr. Luis F. Paredes earned his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is a cultural anthropologist researching how marginalized, and oppressed bodies convey identity, embodied memory, and cultural history. His holistic development created a world-minded individual who challenges cultural labels, social privileges, and racial imbalances. 

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In addition to leading Institutional Equity and Belonging at Wheaton College (Norton, MA), Dr. Luis F. Paredes serves as a Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Social Work/MSW program and the Anthropology Department at Bridgewater State University and teaches courses focusing on diversity, race, and ethnicity, sexism, immigration, dance theory, Spanish, and Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies. He served as a member of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Design Team and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Foreign Language Association (MaFLA); he was a fellow at The National Inclusive Excellence Leadership Academy; he studied at the Intercultural Communication Institute, and he was a Visiting Residency Artist at the Duke University Dance Program. Dr. Paredes stands as Historian and Archivist of the four-time Grammy Awards and Latin Grammy Awards music and dance company, Perú Negro.

He resides in Providence, Rhode Island with his dogs, Pisko and Panka, and spends his time between Providence and Lima.