Herbert Sigüenza

Herbert Sigüenza (born 1959) is a Salvadoran American actor, writer, and performer. The son of two Salvadoran parents, he was born and raised in San Francisco and lived in El Salvador for approximately six years, from age eight to fourteen. The years he lived in El Salvador, witnessing the vast economic difference between the working and affluent classes, allowed him to have a nuanced perspective on the US-Salvadoran transnational relationship that influenced his artistic identity. Sigüenza attended the California College of Arts and received a BFA in printmaking. Afterward, he was the art director at La Raza Silkscreen Center for ten years, creating political posters for community events. He accidentally got involved in theater and found it an essential tool for communicating with people. He performed with Teatro Gusto for six years. Shortly after, he cofounded the theater performance group Culture Clash with José Antonio Burciaga, Marga Gómez, Monica Palacios, Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and René Yañez in 1984 at Galería de la Raza in San Francisco. Sigüenza, Montoya, and Salinas are the only three members remaining in this comedic troupe. Culture Clash remains active and continues to perform nationally. Sigüenza continued his career as an actor, has performed in movies and television shows, and has written plays. Notably, Sigüenza played the voice of identical great-great granduncles Tío Felipe and Tío Oscar in the 2017 Disney Pixar animated film Coco, for which he served as cultural advisor.

Mauricio Ramirez