the literary world through poetry with his books Para Aprisionar Nostalgias (To imprison Nostalgia) in 1983, which won him the :es:Premio Joven Creación (Young Creation Award), given by the National Authors Association of Costa Rica and the Editorial Costa Rica, and Cuerpo de mimbre (Body of Osier) in 1984, which won the UNA Palabra Award given by the National University of Costa Rica. At the same time he starts to write for the stage. From his earliest productions his plays have generated praise among audiences and critics. His first comedy L’ ánima sola de Chico Muñoz (The Forlorn Soul of Chico Muñoz) (1985) became Costa Rica's longest-running play for many years. His work generated great demand and in 1986 his play La chupeta electrónica (The Electronic Pacifier) was another audience success, followed in 1987 by Con la honra en el alambre (Virtue Hanging by a Thread) based on Maupassant’s short story Le Rosier de Madame Husson. In this stage he also writes Fantasma por error (A Mistaken Ghost) (1989). With the revival of this play in Panama in 2005, Arroyo was granted that country's Anita Villalaz National Award for best foreign play. This play was staged for a third time in 2007, at the Teatro Municipal de Alajuela. This first plays develop popular characters and humorous situations, rescuing oral traditions and aesthetically re-elaborating mechanisms and themes used in the early 20th century. 80’s and 90’s In further work the author deepens into more lyrical and personal theatre, not exempted of political connotations. He also revisits contemporary history icons, deepening into their personal lives and social drama, questioning what has been written in official texts. In this line of work he writes Mata Hari: sentencia para una aurora (Mata Hari: A Dawn’s Sentence) (1987). Here he re- interprets the life of Mata Hari as a victim of the forces that be rather than the alleged double agent that faced trial for espionage. It was written during Arroyo's stay in the United States in the International Writing Program (IWP) founded by Paul Engle at the University of Iowa, and it earned him his first Aquileo J. Echeverría National Award. This play also gained him international recognition for it was also presented in Puerto Rico, Venezuela and later on, translated and staged in Brazil in 2002–2003. Arroyo broke new ground again in 1991 with his play La aventura del café (The Coffee Adventure).