Lucas Rivera nació en Salinas, Puerto Rico, y se crio en los barrios del Bronx y el norte de Filadelfia. Actualmente vive en Los Ángeles. Es un artista multidisciplinario afro-puertorriqueño, escritor y estratega cultural, cuyo trabajo reimagina y redefine narrativas, empoderando a comunidades de color y reclamando espacios como sitios de poder, posibilidad y pertenencia.
Entre sus publicaciones se encuentran secciones de Love Poem en Viral Justice de la Dra. Ruha Benjamin (Princeton University Press, 2022), su libro My AfroRican State of Soul (World Stage Press, 2023) y Not About the Color of Our Skin (Kisman Quarterly, 2025). Actualmente desarrolla Negrito: Stories from the Shaded Hood of North Philly.
“Recibir esta beca es ser visto y celebrado como afro-puertorriqueño que ha pasado décadas proclamando “We Belong Here”, anclado a una isla que guarda mi espíritu, mis palabras, mi música, mis colores y mi danza”.
Lucas Rivera was born in Salinas, Puerto Rico, and raised in the hoods of the Bronx and North Philadelphia. He currently lives in Los Angeles. Lucas is a multidisciplinary Afro-Puerto Rican artist, writer, and cultural strategist whose work reimagines and redefines narratives, lifting communities of color and reclaiming spaces as sites of power, possibility, and belonging.
His publications include sections of Love Poem in Viral Justice by Dr. Ruha Benjamin (Princeton University Press, 2022), his book My AfroRican State of Soul (World Stage Press, 2023), and Not About the Color of Our Skin (Kisman Quarterly, 2025). He is currently developing Negrito: Stories from the Shaded Hood of North Philly.
“To receive this fellowship is to be seen and celebrated as an Afro-Puerto Rican who has spent decades declaring “We Belong Here,” tethered to an island that holds my spirit, my words, my music, mis colores, and my dance.”