I tell stories about the people who inhabit the Amazon rainforest. Through novels, chronicles, documentaries, photographs, academic articles, and lectures, I portray everyday life without giving in to dominant stereotypes. I practice ethnography: the art of living alongside others, observing, and learning—so I can then tell their stories.
Etnography for all audiences
Ethnography when we need it most
For centuries, Amazonian societies prospered thanks to the forest, without damaging it, contributing to its biodiversity. How did they do it? The answer to this question is of paramount importance for the future of humanity. Although publications, exhibitions, and films about the region's inhabitants proliferate in the West, they are often burdened by the image of the ancestral sage, adorned with a feathered crown, guardian of sacred nature. This stereotype, deeply rooted in the Western imagination, hinders understanding of the historical, social, and cultural complexity of Amazonian peoples and condemns conservation and development initiatives to failure. Against this flawed communication, ethnography—that is, prolonged coexistence with local interlocutors—constitutes an indispensable step to build bridges between both worlds. This is the philosophy that drives my outreach work since I established myself in Leticia, in the Colombian Amazon, in 2007.
