Rafael Varon Gabai

Rafael Varon Gabai is a Peru-based research historian and consultant specializing in the management of social, cultural and educational programs, particularly in the recovery and diffusion of culture and tradition.

Varon was Co-curator for the 2015 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program Perú: Pachamama, representing the Republic of Peru Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR).

Previously, Varon directed the Telefonica Foundation in Peru, where, during his ten-year tenure, he conducted programs on education, art, cultural patrimony and accessibility. Varon has also served as Vice minister of Cultural Patrimony and Cultural Industries for the Ministry of Culture of Peru, Director of the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru and Manager of Culture and Academic Promotion at PROMPERU. As public lecturer, editorialist and university professor, Varon has researched, published and edited books on the history of Andean peoples and on the Peruvian Amazonia.

Varon received his bachelor’s degree in history and industrial engineering from North Carolina State University. He received his master’s degree in history from The University of Texas at Austin and his doctorate in history from the University of London.