I am the first generation to be born in the city. My family comes from a small village on the Portuguese-Spanish border. They were farmers and contrabandists during the times of the Salazar and Franco dictatorships. Unlike them, I was born in Lisbon already in a time when democracy and freedom had solid foundations.
History and society always caught my attention. As I come from a low-class family, I'm intrigued to know how the efforts of the previous generations helped my generation to have a better life. My great-grandfather, for example, immigrated to Argentine and lived there for eight years at the beginning of the 20th century in order to make more money as a farmer. My grandfather moved from the small village to Lisbon and started his career in the national guard forces. And many of my grandparents' siblings immigrated to France after World War II to take advantage of the high demand for construction. With these efforts, my family was able to work our way up and live today on a higher level. My mom was the first one in the family to get a bachelor's and my sister was the first one to get a master's.
My family's experiences shaped me to be a world's citizen rather than a citizen of a single country. Even though I recognize that it's important to know about us first—so I can leave home to explore the world while carrying principles and values taught at home—my work portrays the need to know more about them, than us. Or, in other words, I'm fascinated by the need to reach common ground among cultures.
In 2015, I immigrated to the United States and lived there for almost five years. I graduated from Southern Utah University with a major in Communications and Media Studies and a minor in English Literature. I graduated Summa Cum Laude, the highest of the honor's distinctions. In the meantime, I exchanged at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication in 2018. I spent time in China learning about the Chinese language and culture during the summer of 2017 and was award Student Journalist of the Year at SUU that same year.
It's important to note that prior to my living in the States, I had studied photography in Lisbon (2007-2010), and worked as a freelance photographer from 2010 to 2015.
At this moment, I am based in Lisbon and consider it home. However, the world's exploration never ends. Until the last breath, the world is my playground.
