Born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in South Florida, Manuel developed a passion for theatre and the arts at a young age. Manuel attended The University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he received his BFA in Lighting Design and Technology.

Now a New York City based lighting designer, Manuel has had the pleasure of designing a wide a variety of productions. He has worked with companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Malpaso Dance Company, El Repertorio Español, among others.

Most recently he designed the world premiere of Osnel Delgado’s The Windless Hold with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He has also had the chance to design many world premieres at the Off-Broadway El Repertorio Español including stage adaptations of famous hispanic novels such as La Tia Julia y El Escribidor and El Coronel No Tiene Quien le Escriba.

Since the fall of 2016, Manuel has been the lighting supervisor for Havana-based Malpaso Dance Company, an associate company of the Joyce Theater Productions. With Malpaso, Manuel has toured extensively including stops in Germany, Cuba, Canada, and a large portion of the United States. He also recently acted as the Lighting Supervisor for Alexander Ekman’s Episode 31 danced by the Hungarian National Ballet and the Poznan Opera Ballet.

Manuel is a Senior Lighting Designer at arc3design, a premiere New York City based lighting design firm, where he has worked since 2015 with founder Al Crawford. At arc3design, Manuel has worked on a diverse range of projects, including Obama State Dinners at the White House, Electric Ocean at SeaWorld San Antonio, cruise ship entertainment, large corporate and special events and many others.