Biography

I was born on September 6, 1984, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but raised in a municipality a few steps away, Guaynabo.  I grew up in a blended family, where I am the third child for my father, while for my mother I am the first.

During my school studies I belonged to the Student Council of the school and to the Puerto Rican Congress of the United Nations where we discussed on issues related to human, economic and social rights, among others, from the perspective of some Nation-States and/or organizations that one had to represent.

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In ecclesial terms, I grew up in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in University Gardens and was part of the kids' choir, then in the youth fellowship, where I was a member of the leadership council, I was in the youth band, the local church worship ministry, and Christian education ministry, among many others, following the example of my parents who were also church leaders.

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College life brought with it its challenges, since it was a drastic change due to the diversity of thought that is discussed in that community.  The Rev. Dr. Maritza Resto Rivera in her accompaniment helped me develop a faith that seeks understanding. Moreover, with her preaching, an educated preaching, oriented towards the marginalized, from a feminist perspective and an inclusive preaching, she created in me a concern for theological task and formal study of theology begins to be a possibility to consider. That along with my experiences led me to rethink/feel my understanding of God, faith and the church.

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My academic upbringing in biology with a concentration in wildlife management; meeting and conversing with the Brazilian ecofeminist theologian, Ivone Gebara; my experience of understanding and accepting myself as a queer person; access to studies in Chicago and critical gender theories have created in me an amalgam of sources for the development of a decolonial theology focused on the body, and on the chaotic experiences in people's lives.

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I am currently pastoring Trinidad Lutheran Church in Humboldt Park Chicago, a small and inspiring community.