Tiago is the first generation in his family to be born in the city. His family comes from a small village on the Portuguese/Spanish border—a town called Nave de Haver. His family members were farmers and smugglers during the times of the dictatorships in Portugal and Spain. Unlike them, Tiago was born in Lisbon at a time when democracy and freedom already had solid foundations.
History and society always caught Tiago's attention. As he comes from a low-class family, he's intrigued to know how the efforts of his previous generations helped him get to the point where he is now. Tiago's great-grandfather, Manuel, for example, immigrated to Argentine and lived there for eight years at the beginning of the 20th century. Not much is known besides that he was a farmer. Tiago's grandparents' siblings immigrated to France after World War II to take advantage of the high demand for construction. However, Tiago's grandparents stayed in Portugal. His grandfather, António, moved from Nave de Haver to Póvoa de Varzim to enrol on the mandatory military service in the early 50s, and then to Lisbon where he started his career in the Portuguese National Guard (GNR). They returned to the countryside in the 60s, but his parents moved to Lisbon permanently in the 80s, so they could find more opportunities to thrive. By doing that, his family was able to work their way up. Tiago's mom, Emília, was the first one in the family to get a bachelor's and his sister, Liliana, was the first to get a master's.
Tiago started his career as a photographer in 2010, published in prestigious magazines and developed projects for well-established Portuguese corporations. The need to expand brought him to the United States, where he learned the art of communications, journalism, and research with some of the best professionals in the field. He got a bachelor's from Southern Utah University, majoring in Communications and Media Studies, and minoring in English Literature (2020). According to the former USA Today photojournalist Sung Park, “Tiago's enterprising spirit sets him apart from other peers. He's not afraid to take risks and tackle big issues.” Tiago's creative mindset, and his strong curiosity about society and its multicultural communities, inspired him to create groundbreaking projects, such as “This is Me” about the LGBTQ community in Timor-Leste.
Since returning to Portugal, Tiago has been working full-time for international corporations as a communications expert.
Flash forward to 2023; Tiago is a multimedia storyteller. He's also a private 1-on-1 European Portuguese and English teacher and an expert in the North American and European markets. At "Languages with Tiago", services focus on language comprehension, text editing, preparation for interviewing, and translation.
Tiago is a surfer and a genuine sustainability advocate.
