Elisa Marina Alvarado is an American director, actress, educator, social worker, practitioner of traditional Mexican medicine, and dancer. Born in San Jose, California, Elisa Alvarado is a director and community organizer of Purépecha and Cuban descent. She was the founder and long-time Artistic Director of the San Jose-based Chicano Teatro Visión theater company. Teatro Visión is a Chicano theater company in the Latino theater scene, known especially for adapting classic Mexican novels and films for the stage. She is currently invested in two theater programs Codices and the Instituto de Teatro, which produce new works by Latino playwrights and offer comprehensive training in culture-based theater.