Arturo was born in Lima, Peru.

He has lived in Bloomington since 1995.

He is currently working at Bloomington Hospital, pursuing a new career working on nursing degree; previously he worked for about 30 years as a metal smith (jewelry); on the side he teaches dance (salsa, meringue) which he studied when he was younger in Peru; he also is DJ.

Family

“Nobody (in my family) lives in the United States. It’s really bad because whenever I go to interview for something like credit at the bank or something, they ask “nearest relative with you” and I have to say none. And it’s sad in a way, and it’s hard for people to understand that you can be by yourself…I keep close contact (with my family in Peru) on the phone and internet and hopefully I will visit next Christmas.”

Religion

“I was raised Baha’i…In Peru, there are small communities of everything, there are Muslims as well as Jews, you name it, there are immigrants from all over the world in each country (in Latin America)…”