Karla Prieto Prado studied business administration in Peru. After a successful stint in the Peruvian banking sector, she decided to leave it all behind to pursue a professional career in the arts abroad. Now based in New York, she spearheads projects that showcase Peruvian talent and connect it with international stages.
As a child in Huancayo, she already dreamed of becoming an actress. However, when it came time to decide on her professional path, it wasn’t the fairy tale many might imagine.
She recalls that, as a teenager, the moment arrived to decide what to do with her education.
“I dreamed of studying acting, but my parents would respond by saying, ‘Be sensible—you have to think about your future,’” she recounts in an interview with *El Peruano* from New York, where she is now pursuing her true passion.
“My parents are middle-class professionals who worked their fingers to the bone to pay for my university education,” she says with pride.
Behind her lay the commitment and responsibility to succeed in her studies at the Universidad del Pacífico—an achievement that eventually led her to a career in banking, which she describes as the “first migration” of her life.
Big Dreams
Far from feeling that her dreams were fading, Karla found that the corporate world served as a gateway to the arts.
“I live by this philosophy: use what you have to get what you want,” she emphasizes.
By day, she was a corporate executive; by night, she trained in the best acting workshops she could find—even studying under the renowned Roberto Ángeles.
Although the fast-paced corporate world threatened to pull her in, she remained steadfast in her passion. She began producing theatrical works—initially on weekends—to gain a deeper understanding of how the performing arts functioned in Peru. This is how she began to gain recognition for her consulting work; drawing on her expertise, she had identified that Peru held “immense potential.”
“I realized that this was the right path for me. My purpose aligned not only with what I did well, but also with where I could make the greatest contribution,” she emphasizes.
A leap of faith
This realization led her to resign from what she had considered a secure position: her job at the bank. However, the pandemic struck, and since no replacement had yet been found for her role, she decided to stay on until the end of 2020.
Ultimately, the global events of that time provided the clarity she needed to take the leap.
“You could be gone from this world tomorrow, without ever having achieved what you truly wanted to accomplish or having made the contribution you hoped to offer your country,” she remarks.
Yet, as with any new beginning, there were challenges and fears; she chose to embrace uncertainty.
“Society conditions us to seek security, and uncertainty is often viewed as a problem. I believe that great things have been achieved precisely by embracing it,” she points out.
With that, she packed her bags and headed to New York to pursue a master’s degree in Arts Management & Entrepreneurship at The New School. The journey was not easy.
“I arrived with a partner, but this is an intense city, and the relationship came to an end. My turning point arrived when I realized I was on my own—that realization sparked a sense of empowerment within me. It gave me the drive to prove that nothing would stop me from accomplishing what I had come here to do,” she explains.
“I don’t have children of my own, but I do have nieces and nephews, and I want to leave a legacy for them—and for other children and young people who, just as I was told when I was a child, might be told that ‘this is only for millionaires.’ I’m tired of that narrative. I also don’t want to sell the fantasy that this is easy. But I believe that, today, we are striving to ensure that future generations face fewer barriers in pursuing their dreams,” she notes. Along this journey, Karla was involved in the production of Los Mirlos at Lincoln Center in 2025, as well as their NPR Tiny Desk session—where she also contributed to the art direction alongside Rockass Online Music—though this is just a glimpse of her work.
Ultimately, she leaves us with this message: “Work with what you have to achieve what you want, because the perfect moment does not exist.”
Connecting with the world
Currently, Karla serves as the Director of Community Programs at The Bushwick Starr—an off-Broadway theater located in Brooklyn—where she works to bring the arts closer to diverse communities across New York.
Her career path bridges business training, artistic specialization, and cultural production. It also offers a perspective on the role that Peruvian professionals abroad can play: not only by building careers outside their home country, but also by contributing—within their respective industries—to ensuring that Peruvian talent and identity gain increasingly visible representation on the international stage.
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Publicado: 30/10/2026