Marcelino Quiñonez is an American politician, playwright, activist and former member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

from the 11th district. He assumed office on December 16, 2021 after being appointed to replace Diego Rodriguez.

Early life and education

Quiñonez was born in

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and raised in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. After graduating from South Mountain High School, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Fine Arts in theatre from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

During his education, he studied under

Marshall W. Mason Marshall W. Mason (born February 24, 1940) is an American theater director, educator, and writer. Mason founded the Circle Repertory Company in New York City and was artistic director of the company for 18 years (1969–1987). He received an Obie ...

Career

Quiñonez has worked as a drama teacher at the

Arizona School for the Arts Arizona is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and s ...

and served on the governing board of the

Roosevelt Elementary School District The Roosevelt Elementary School District is a public school district located in the Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most ...

. In 2018, Quiñonez co-authored ''Dear Senator,'' a play starring and co-written by former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods. He also wrote and starred as

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

in ''El Che''. In December 2021, Quiñonez was appointed to the

by the

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is the governing body of Maricopa County, a county of over four million in Arizona. The five supervisors are each elected from single-member districts to serve four-year terms. Partisan primary, Primary el ...

, succeeding Diego Rodriguez. On April 4, 2024, Quiñonez resigned from his position as State Representative, effective immediately.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiñonez, Marcelino American politicians of Mexican descent Living people People from Durango Graham County, Arizona People from Phoenix, Arizona Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Mexican emigrants to the United States Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Arizona Arizona State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature