We mourn the untimely death of Albert Soto,
who dedicated his life to helping young minority artists improve
their chances of success in their endeavors and to promoting
justice for those who suffer discrimination in our society.
Soto, 51, was an arts administrator for Tucson-Pima Arts Council,
and used that position to promote the efforts of struggling young
artists by finding them grant money, by developing opportunities
for them to display their works to the public, and by giving them
much-needed encouragement and advice. He was director of the ARTWORKS!
Academy, a component of an alternative education program the council
operates in conjunction with Tucson Unified School District.
"He wanted very much to have young artists flourish, particularly
artists who were often on the margins," said longtime friend
and associate Barclay Goldsmith, founder of Borderlands Theater. "He
wanted to help them find their voices and their passions. He was
very concerned that grants be distributed to as many young and
new voices as possible. He was a dreamer. He was doing stuff nobody
else was doing."
Soto was a performing artist in his own right. He appeared in
Tucson stage productions of Deporting the Divas, Midsummer Night's
Dream, The House of Spirits and Electricidad. He was famous locally
for his role as Lucifer in the last seven annual Borderlands productions
of A Tucson Pastorela. "I've written over two dozen pastorelas," said
playwright Max Branscomb. "And Albert was the only Lucifer
the audiences actually cheered when he walked on stage."
But Soto was more than an artist and arts promoter. He also was
a community activist. At the time of his death, he was president
of the Southern Arizona Council 1057 of the League of United Latin
American Citizens and the state organization's Deputy Director
for Young Adults. He was chair of the Tucson Unified School District's
Independent Citizens Committee, the role of which is to monitor
the district's desegregation program. He was on the boards of directors
of Access Tucson (local public television station) and Planned
Parenthood of Southern Arizona. He served on the Consejo Natcional
para las Comunidades Mexicanes en el Exterior for the Mexican Consulate
of Tucson. Soto was facilitator for the YWCA's "It's Time
to Talk" program and he participated in numerous local, national
and international conferences, panels and workshops on the arts
and on human-rights issues.
"He wanted justice in this world," said longtime friend
Annabelle Nuñez. "This community is going to feel a great
loss."
A Tucson native, Soto graduated from Tucson High School and the
University of Arizona. After college he pursued a career in the
fashion industry in several U.S. cities. He returned to Tucson
in 1987 to shift his career to its arts orientation. He joined
the Tucson-Pima Arts Council in 1991.
Soto is survived by his parents, Frank and Irene Soto; sister
Yolanda Bernal; brother Joe Soto; and five nephews and nieces.