I was a union organizer for over 15 years, but now I'm in a transition to a new life as a documentary filmmaker. I studied film in Cuba. I've lived in several different states in the USA, but my favorite cities in the US (so far) are Chicago; Portland, Oregon; Durham, North Carolina; and Marquette, Michigan. I like to meet new people and make new friends. I also like to send postcards made from photos I've taken.

My Portuguese is advanced beginner level, but my Farsi and Russian are currently just terrible. However, I'm looking into total immersion language school in Tajikistan and Belarus to learn those two.

I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to live for about half a year each in Guatemala, Mexico, and Cuba and to visit Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Nicaragua, Portugal, Uruguay.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet people and to make new friends! Also, Couchsurfing is a beautiful thing, isn't it: a small utopia outside of the commodification of most things in the marketplace of global capitalism.

Interests

• poetry
• documentaries
• cinema
• social justice
• documentary
• feminism
• china
• india
• cultural anthropology
• socialism
• iran
• colômbia
• russia
• cuba
• anarchism
• argentina
• central asia
• documentary photography
• utopia
• black lives matter
• watching documentaries
• yugoslavia
• iww
• trade unionism
• spanish civil war
• the caucasus
• non-aligned movement
• labor notes
• the international trade union confederation
• the anthropology of time
• the history of national liberation of africa
• the us civil rights movement
• occupy wall st
• sam dolgoff
• the institute for anarchist studies
• witness for peace
• peace brigades international
• third cinema and cinema of liberation

Music, Movies, and Books

Films: The House is Black, Nobodies Business, A Grin Without a Cat, Brightleaf, Metal y Melancolia, Olvido, Crazy, Sans Soleil, The Last Bolshevik, the entire Eyes on the Prize documentary film series, May I touch your hand? by filmmaker Guilia Strippoli, and the films of Sadie Benning and Vittorio de Seta (not de Sica.)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Studying poetry with Amiri Baraka, Allen Ginsburg, Ed Sanders, Anselm Hollo, and Anne Waldman was a memorable summer when I was 21 years old.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've taught English as a second language, volunteered on the Immigrant Worker Freedom Ride and New American Freedom Summer. I'm a lifetime member of the NAACP.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good vibes, kindness, respect, and good humor. I like to ask questions, too, and listen. I make good soup and great pasta. My salads are extraordinary.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Portugal, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, United States