Editing Alejandro Jodorowsky (section)

=== Early life ===
Alejandro Jodorowsky was born on February 17, 1929, in [[Tocopilla|Tocopilla, Chile]] to immigrant [[History of the Jews in Ukraine|Ukrainian Jewish]] parents Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann and Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi from [[Yekaterinoslav]] and [[Elisavetgrad]] in the [[Russian Empire]]. According to Jodorowsky's account, [[Pregnancy from rape|he was conceived from sexual violence that his mother had faced]], as his father was [[Domestic violence|physically and sexually abusive towards her]]. Due to this, his mother disliked Jodorowsky, and detested his father.{{sfn|Jodorowsky|2005|pp=39–40}} Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, as he believed that she was selfish and trying to "expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention."{{sfn|Jodorowsky|2005|p=140}} Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants. Jodorowsky did not have a [[Bar and bat mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]] or celebrate any Jewish holidays as his parents concealed their Jewish identity for much of Jodorowsky's life.<ref name="theparisreview.org">{{Cite web |date=2018-03-08 |title=Buy High, Sell Cheap: An Interview with Alejandro Jodorowsky |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/03/08/buy-high-sell-cheap-an-interview-with-alejandro-jodorowsky/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=The Paris Review |language=en}}</ref>

Jodorowsky moved to [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] at the age of 9, a decision he did not favor, as he liked the local areas of Tocopilla.{{sfn|Jodorowsky|2005|p=115}} Growing up, his dislike of the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly later influenced his condemnation of [[American imperialism]] and [[neo-colonialism]] in Latin America in several of his films.

He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as [[Nicanor Parra]], [[Stella Díaz Varín]] and [[Enrique Lihn]].<ref name="empire-oct-09">{{Cite news|last=Braund|first=Simon|date=October 2009|title=All about Alejandro|page=139|work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]}}</ref> Becoming interested in the political ideology of [[anarchism]], Jodorowsky briefly attended the [[University of Chile]], studying [[psychology]] and philosophy, but dropped out after two years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Babcock |first=Jay |date=2010-02-01 |title=JODOROWSKY: "I am old. I have so many things to do, so every day I get quicker, in order to do them! I don't want to die without doing everything I wanted to do." |url=https://arthurmag.com/2010/02/01/jodorowsky-i-am-old/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Arthur Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alejandro Jodorowsky |url=https://www.abkco.com/artist/alejandro-jodorowsky/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. |language=en-US}}</ref> After leaving university, he developed an interest in theatre and particularly [[mime]], he took up employment in a [[circus]] as a [[clown]], as well as beginning a career as a theatre director.<ref name="Church" /> Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico,<ref name="empire-oct-09" /> which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, ''El Minotaura'' (''The Minotaur'').