I am from a town in Northeastern Brazil and have always been surrounded by Atlantic rainforests and tropical fauna. From a young age, I was active in composting my family's food waste, gardening, feeding surrounding animals, and hiking through the forest in my community. I believe one of the principal reasons that climate change is so frequently ignored is that minority and disadvantaged groups are at the front lines of this change. These changes are found around the world from the United States to the PNG, to my home country of Brazil. In my own country, indigenous people are still being displaced in the Amazon Rainforest in order for the commercial exploitation of their land. Intentional fires spread rapidly throughout the historic rainforest in order for the space to be utilized for cattle farming or monoculture, all of which is sanctioned by President Bolsonaro due to his breakdown of environmental protections. I have personally seen climate change in my own community, which was once densely populated by butterflies, capybaras, and mico monkeys, but have been driven out by constructions and human invasion.

What do you feel is the importance of storytelling and creativity? And what experiences do you hope to have through your collaboration with The Creative Process?

I think storytelling and creativity are some of the most uniquely human processes, and I find myself personally drawn to oral history as a form of understanding different communities' understandings of their own histories as well as the world's. I have participated in a video project aiming to record the personal oral histories of the Dominican immigrant community in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which was exhibited publicly at a local restaurant for the community to watch. I believe through projects such as The Creative Process, I can further explore oral history and how making interviews accessible to the public is a form of education without economic barriers. I hope to get to know more about the variety of interesting individuals interviewed by The Creative Process, and understand more about the powerful process of storytelling.

I am a History student at Barnard College with a concentration in Latin American history and minors in Anthropology and Italian. Particularly, I study the social history of Latin America and the ways in which inequalities are reproduced over time. I am currently enrolled in a History of the Atlantic Slave Trade and have in the past taken courses on Families in Latin America, Afro-Latin America, and Gendering Material Culture.