Biography
Born at the Einstein Hospital, in New York City's borough of Bronx, where Rafael's father, Dr. Bolívar Pereyra M.D., graduated and completed his medical residency while pursuing his biochemistry degree and second doctorate; and where his mother, Dr. Edith Márquez, was rushed to maternity across town after her water broke in the middle of her Law of the Sea class, a branch of International Law, and 3 days later she returned to class, then her professor and peers nicknamed him Popeye. Graduating soon after, she received her doctorate degree from New York University and -without hesitation- began paving her path toward an illustrious diplomatic career, from the United Nations to an ambassadorship, insatiably promoting, defending and fighting in defense of all human rights, justice and geopolitical decency.
Rafael's travels began at age 4, forging the nomad within, principally growing up between New York, Washington D.C., Caracas, Bethesda and Los Angeles. He joined the Terps at the University of Maryland where he sought out a double mayor/minor in anthropology/political science and social geography/romance language literature. He later began his actor's training at the National Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, followed by the Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory (D.C.) and Casa del Teatro (Mexico City).
Rafael started his acting career on the DC stages in the late 90s. Since then, he has played in numerous theater productions, films and [more recent] in TV series. His apparent restless creativity has enabled him to maintain parallel careers. In a seamlessly balancing act, he has produced, arranged and composed music [and continues to do so] for/with several artists, films and TV, including hundreds of advertising campaigns. Additionally, he has produced and directed some films and content, both documentary and fiction; and though, he hasn't formally pursuit professional careers outside the performing arts, he is actively developing projects with conscious responsibility in an attempt to "promote curiosity, interest in learning and system thinking."
