Rafael Alvarez, born May 24, 1958 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, is a motion picture writer and producer. He is a writer for the first, second, & third seasons of The Wire. He has worked on The Wire creator David Simon's other series Homicide: Life on the Street. He has been active since 1997 and has also worked on the series Tlt, Thief, The Black Donnellys, and Life. Alvarez worked as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun prior to starting a career in television. He has written several books including a guide to The Wire (The Wire: Truth Be Told), a non-fiction guide to the archdiocese in Baltimore, a short-fiction anthology and two collections of his journalism.