I hold a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, where I focused on the intersections of aesthetics and infrastructure in post-conflict settings. Prior to this, I earned a Master’s degree in Cultural and Political Sociology from Freie Universität Berlin, which provided a foundation for my research in visual and critical social theory. I also studied sociology at Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala.

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh, where I am involved in a project focusing on Indigenous cartographies during the Cold War. From 2022, I served as Director of the Graduate Department at Universidad Rafael Landívar, overseeing graduate programs and guiding research initiatives. My academic career also includes a postdoctoral fellowship with the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Fejos Program in Ethnographic Film, along with research affiliations at the University of Texas at Austin. Between 2018 and 2020, I worked as a researcher at the Instituto de Investigación y Proyección sobre el Estado at Universidad Rafael Landívar, with a focus on state violence aesthetics and infrastructure theory. I also directed the study abroad program for the University of Arizona’s partnership with Avancso, teaching courses in visual anthropology, biopolitics, and sensory studies. Earlier in my career, I coordinated the Social Imaginaries Team at the Asociación para el Avance de las Ciencias Sociales in Guatemala (AVANCSO) and held teaching positions at several institutions, including Universidad de San Carlos and FLACSO Guatemala. These roles have spanned from undergraduate to graduate-level teaching, covering subjects such as contemporary philosophy, critical race analysis, and political theory.

My research has been supported by a range of grants and fellowships from various institutions. Currently, my work at the University of Edinburgh is funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council, supporting a project on Indigenous cartographies during the Cold War. Previously, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Fejos Program in Ethnographic Film, which facilitated my work in visual anthropology. During my doctoral studies, I received significant support from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for field research, enabling my exploration of post-conflict aesthetics and infrastructure in Guatemala. In addition, my doctoral studies were funded by a Fulbright/LASPAU scholarship, further enhancing my ability to conduct in-depth research. Other notable support includes the Rhonda L. Andrews Memorial Fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin, and several field research grants, including those from Tinker Field Research and Brot für die Welt, which supported my early work on race, security, and social imaginaries in Central America.

My research spans a wide range of projects that explore the intersections of visual anthropology, state violence, and Indigenous cartographies. Currently, I am engaged in the Komon Sajbichil project (2023-2025) at the University of Edinburgh, which examines Indigenous cartographies during the Cold War. This project, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Julie Gibbings, investigates how Indigenous communities in the Ixil region navigated and represented their territories during geopolitical conflicts. Since 2020, I have led the project La Mirada Alzada en la Historia Ixil: Hacia una Historia Menor de la Guerra. This ongoing research in visual anthropology focuses on the politicization and production of social imaginaries in the Ixil region, analyzing how these imaginaries are shaped by both historical and contemporary narratives of conflict. From 2018 to 2019, I conducted research on Razón de Estado, Violencia de Estado e Infraestructura en la Poscontrainsurgencia, examining how state violence and infrastructure impacted the post-counterinsurgency landscape in Guatemala. This work builds on my doctoral research, They Didn’t Win the War: Aesthetics and Infrastructure in Post-Counterinsurgency Guatemala (2012-2016), which explored the role of aesthetics and infrastructure in shaping Guatemala’s post-conflict environment. Earlier, I coordinated the Dispositivo Sexo/Raza project (2009-2012) within the Social Imaginaries Team at AVANCSO, focusing on the intersections of race, sex, and social imaginaries in Guatemala. I also contributed to the Racismo, Genealogía e Ideología en Guatemala project (2007-2009), which provided critical insights into the historical and ideological foundations of racism in the country. My early research centered on identity formation and social imaginaries in Guatemala. For my master’s thesis, Konstruktionen des Anderen: Zu einer Praktischen Interpretation Emmanuel Lévinas (2006), I examined the practical aspects of Emmanuel Levinas’s philosophy. I also conducted studies on how national identity is shaped within both formal and non-formal educational systems in Guatemala, focusing on the period from 1996 to 2001.

I have co-edited several books that address critical social issues in Central America. These works include “Incertidumbres y Horizontes: Ensayos sobre COVID-19 en Guatemala” (2023), which examines the diverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala. Another key publication is “Políticas Encandenantes: Sobre Cuerpos y Violencias en Centro América” (2020), which delves into the complex dynamics of bodies and violence across the region. My earlier works, such as “Sexo & Raza: Analíticas de la Blancura, el Deseo y la Sexualidad” (2014) and “Seguridad y Racismo: Pensamiento Crítico Centroamericano” (2014), explore the intersections of race, desire, and security, providing critical insights into the socio-political landscape of Central America.

I have authored over 20 scholarly articles that cover a broad range of topics intersecting visual anthropology, state violence, and racial dynamics in Guatemala. One of my recent works, “El retorno del espectro: pensar fotográfico en el espacio de muerte” (2022), explores how photography can be used to represent and engage with spaces marked by death and trauma. Similarly, in “Arquitecturas de abyección e inmunización en los nuevos ritmos de la vida cotidiana” (2020), I examine the ways in which state infrastructure functions as a tool of control and normalization in post-conflict Guatemala. My work also critically engages with the political and racial structures that shape Guatemalan society. For instance, articles such as “Tres semióticas de subjetivación: racismo deseante en Guatemala” (2014) and “Ontología de la Raza y Racismo S&M” (2014) delve into the processes of racial subject formation and the ideological underpinnings of racism in the country. Through these and other publications, I consistently seek to bridge the gap between visual media and socio-political analysis, offering new perspectives on how visual culture can both reflect and challenge the power dynamics embedded in society. In addition to these thematic explorations, my articles also reflect an ongoing commitment to understanding the role of language, aesthetics, and infrastructure in shaping social realities. This can be seen in works like “Aseguramiento de lo sensible: Lenguaje, infraestructura y estética en la post-contrainsurgencia” (2020) and “Lo político: más allá de la construcción (inter)mediática de la política” (2016), where I investigate the intersections of language, politics, and material culture in contexts of social control and resistance.

I am actively involved in several professional organizations and editorial boards that align with my research interests in visual anthropology and critical social theory. I serve on the editorial board of Revista Eutopía, where I contribute to the curation and review of scholarly work in the field of social sciences. Additionally, I am a member of the Writing with Light Collective, a group dedicated to advancing the practice and theory of ethnographic photography and visual media. These affiliations allow me to engage with a community of scholars and practitioners who are committed to exploring the intersections of visual culture, social justice, and critical analysis.

I have presented my research at numerous academic conferences and seminars, sharing insights on a wide range of topics including Cold War narratives, Indigenous resistance, and visual anthropology. In 2023, I presented “Mirada Alzada de la Historia Ixil: Episode II” at the Carsey-Wolf Center, University of California, Santa Barbara, as part of the seminar “Intercambio de Miradas: Guatemalan Ethnographic and Participatory Media.” This presentation highlighted my ongoing work in documenting and analyzing Ixil narratives through film and visual media. Earlier that year, I participated in the Latein Amerika Institut Freie Universität Berlin’s workshop titled “America Central Hoy: Dilemas de Poder entre Nuevos y Viejos Modelos de Autoritarismo,” where I discussed the research processes involved in understanding the lawfare situation in Guatemala, focusing on the role of Indigenous Ancestral Authorities in defending democracy. My participation in conferences extends beyond Guatemala. I have presented at events such as the Eugenic Legacies across Latin America Conference (2022), where I explored the relationship between Cold War infrastructure and the Indigenous concept of Tichajiil Tenam, and at the XIV Jornadas de Sociología at the Universidad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (2021), where I examined the complexities of Cold War narratives in the Ixil region. I have also been an active participant in the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), where I have organized and chaired sessions on social theories, territorial struggles, and Ixil resistance in the face of global crises. My presentations often focus on the intersections of visual media, Indigenous histories, and socio-political contexts, contributing to ongoing dialogues in these fields.

My work in visual anthropology extends beyond academic research, involving practical interventions through film, photography, and collaborative art projects. In 2024, I curated and authored the photographs for the exhibition “Los Josefinos: Memorias en Resistencia,” which documents the collective memories of resistance in the village of Los Josefinos. This exhibition engages with the emotional and sensory dimensions of historical memory, offering a visual narrative of the community’s struggle and resilience. In 2023, I presented “Episode II, Mirada Alzada de la Historia Ixil” at the Carsey-Wolf Center, UC Santa Barbara. This film is part of an ongoing series that explores the complexities of Ixil history and the ways in which Indigenous narratives are represented and understood through visual media. My work also includes contributions to ethnographic photography, as seen in my 2022 photo essay, “The Forest Welcomed Our Dead,” published in Writing with Light Magazine. This piece explores the interplay between visual representation and sensory experience in contexts marked by death and mourning. Additionally, my earlier exhibition, “Explorations in Ethnographic and Documentary Photography,” held at Spellerberg Projects’ Masur Gallery in Lockhart, TX, in 2018, showcased the potential of visual anthropology to document and analyze complex human experiences. I have also engaged in collaborative art projects, such as the 2015 sculpture “El Olvido que no Sabe que es Olvido,” created with Yasmin Hage. This work was exhibited at the New School, Ciudad de la Imaginación, and Centro de Cultura Hispánica, exploring themes of memory and forgetting. In the same year, I played a key role in the event “Visualidad/Seguridad” at Centro Cultural La Casa, where I served as promoter, exhibitor, and co-curator, blending artistic and academic approaches to critically examine issues of visibility and security.

focusing on research areas such as social theory, post-conflict studies, and contemporary issues in Guatemala. My role as a thesis advisor involves mentoring students as they navigate complex research questions, helping them develop rigorous methodologies and produce work that contributes meaningfully to their fields. Through this process, I aim to foster critical thinking and support students in generating insights that are both academically sound and socially impactful.

I have supervised a total of 8 theses, including 1 doctoral dissertation, 5 master’s theses, and 2 undergraduate (licenciatura) theses. These projects have covered a wide range of topics, reflecting diverse academic interests in areas such as social theory, post-conflict studies, and contemporary issues.

Over the past 17 years, I have taught a wide range of courses that reflect my interdisciplinary approach to education, integrating elements of visual anthropology, contemporary philosophy, critical social theory, and the analysis of racism. My teaching experience spans multiple institutions in Guatemala and internationally, including the Universidad Rafael Landívar, the University of Arizona, and the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Some of the key courses I have developed and taught include Introduction to Visual Anthropology, Critical Analysis of Racism, Contemporary Social Philosophy, and specialized seminars on figures like Heidegger, Foucault, Deleuze, and Zizek. I have also conducted advanced research seminars, such as Visualizing Biopolitics and Ethnographic Praxis, which challenge students to engage deeply with both theoretical frameworks and practical applications. My work in the Ixil region has also informed my teaching, particularly in courses like Mirada Alzada de la Historia Ixil and Historia Ixil del Siglo XX, which explore the complex historical narratives and social dynamics of the area