Raquel Almazan was born in Madrid, Spain, to parents who were farmers and big dreamers, inspiring her eclectic career as an actor, writer, director, activist, and educator for social change. Raised in the United States, she draws from her Costa Rican heritage and Latinx roots to shake up representation for a new generation.
Awards and accolades include the Latinidad Award from the Kennedy Center, which she received for her work in promoting Latinx representation. She is currently developing the comedy pilot CHUTUP!, based on her life and work in New York City.
Noted roles include Alicia Alicia Watkins on Limitless opposite Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Maricela on Law & Order: SVU, Rosa Heredia opposite James Spader on The Black List, Rita Campos on White Collar, and a Cuban exile opposite Cristina Ricci in PAN AM. She has also appeared on Blue Bloods and The Michael J. Fox Show.
Raquel's first love is theatre, and she has performed in numerous productions, including La Negra at Lincoln Center workshop, performance at BRIC Arts, and the title role in La Paloma Prisoner at New York Theatre Workshop. She has also played Lady MacBeth in MacBeth, Mrs. Papov in Chekov's The Bear, and the lead in Escaping Juarez at El Museo del Barrio.
In addition to her stage work, Raquel has performed in over 100 venues, including The Kennedy Center, The Actors Studio, City Center, La Mama, Repertorio Espanol, INTAR, Pregones, Dixon Place, and in independent films that have screened at Cannes, HBO NYLIFF, Canada International, Honolulu, Mexico, and Philadelphia International Festivals.
Raquel is also a seasoned writer, holding an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Columbia University. She is a recipient of the Kate Neal Kinley Playwriting Fellowship and has written several plays, including the largest play cycle attempted in the US, The Latin is America Play Cycle, a play written in dedication for each Latin American country.
Raquel's original work has been performed in New York City, throughout the United States, and internationally in Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Colombia, Guatemala, and Sweden. She has also completed several plays, including her feature film directorial debut, White Alligator, and her feature screenplay, Death of the Doll, which was selected for the Writer's Lab with National Association of Latin Independent Producers.
