# Alumni Spotlight: Daniela Castro January 23, 2023 ![Daniela Castro photo](/sites/g/files/omnuum12451/files/drclas2/files/000082130014.jpeg) Daniela Castro (AB´22) graduated from Harvard College in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Secondary in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights. She was born in Honduras and moved to the U.S. at an early age. During her time at Harvard, Daniela was involved in Act on a Dream, PBHA, Black C.A.S.T., TEATRO!, and MLAB. She is currently studying theater in São Paulo, Brazil with funding from the [Clémence Jouët-Pastré Brazil Travel Fellowship](/cl%C3%A9mence-jou%C3%ABt-pastr%C3%A9-brazil-travel-fellowship). **Daniela, could you start by sharing with us a little bit about your personal history and your years at Harvard?** I was born in Honduras and my family and I migrated to the United States when I was two, where I grew up in Southwest Florida. I was always very curious and chased after opportunities, or created my own. In high school I was very involved in public service which very naturally translated to me being involved during my four years in the Phillips Brooks House organization volunteering for BRYE tutoring, the BRYE Summer Urban Program (SUP) and also generally being involved in migrant activism through Act on a Dream where I was the Co-chair during my Junior year. After a bit of time spent in reflection during the pandemic, I was realizing there were a lot of spaces I could fill in my life - more creative impulses that I had inside me and did not have access to growing up but that now I could perhaps explore during the last year. So one day I decided to audition for a play… and it ended up being one of the most transformative experiences I've had. I think it was the uncertainty and the fact I had nothing to lose. I was then grateful to be a part of Black C.A.S.T and TEATRO!’s “Into the Woods” and close off my time in college with a dive into the unknown—now in its continuation. I think through all my involvements at Harvard and what I learned the most was the magic that can be created through collaboration and working together on projects, whether that be within the scope of the community, whether it is through an artistic or creative vision - but the energy is always more powerful. And naturally it felt like a radical departure from my personal life experiences where I was fed the messaging that I needed to resolve everything on my own - or in academic settings, where coming from a very underrepresented identity I was used to working alone and overworking myself. And now I’m grateful for new experiences I’ve had and continue having. **Now, as an Alum, you are currently in Brazil through the Clémence Jouët-Pastré Brazil Travel Fellowship. What exactly about engaging with Brazil and Latin America first called your attention as an undergraduate student?** Many things, I would say the first time I touched Brazilian culture was through music. In Honduran culture, there is this genre of music called Punta that has a very similar rhythmic pattern and feel as Samba de Enredo which is something I became intrigued by, later exploring the many and diverse genres of Brazilian music that exist. I became fascinated with how music is a space of release where these marks of shared struggle and history can be heard, and that perhaps there was something to explore there. And then I also took a Portuguese class where my professor, Bené, shared with us a lot of interesting features about Brazilian culture, unique forms of expression such as through the word ‘saudade’ - and through the class I heard about [MLAB](/mentoring-and-language-acquisition-brazil-mlab), a program where low-income high school students attending more privileged schools in Brazil on scholarships can be mentored by Harvard students. Being a part of this program and practicing my Portuguese weekly with a young student from Brazil through Zoom nurtured a greater pull towards engaging with Brazilian culture on a deeper level. It was around there that I heard and applied to the [Clémence Jouët-Pastré Brazil Travel Fellowship](/cl%C3%A9mence-jou%C3%ABt-pastr%C3%A9-brazil-travel-fellowship). I was first interested in centering my project on Music until I became involved in theater and researched the history of theatre in Latin America and its exchange with U.S. theatre, through which I came across Augusto Boal and the practice of Theatre of the Oppressed, a vision for theater as a way of tackling issues that occur in the everyday. It is then that I felt deeply passionate towards exploring this further in Brazil, as I had noticed the changes that theatre was already generating in me on a personal level. **Could you describe the purpose of the fellowship, and a little bit about the project you are currently engaged with?** The fellowship provides you with the ability to choose a project of your own, which can be adapted while you're here as well once you become aware of more local opportunities. My project involves exploring the theater scene in São Paulo which is very diverse, ranging from street theatre, theatre built from the ground up, to theatre that is more Broadway-esque and for entertainment purposes. While doing so I am volunteering for Mudança de Cena, an organization that teaches the theatre of the oppressed method in different neighborhoods across São Paulo, and I am taking theatre classes as well with a local organization. **And how do you think this immersion will impact your future, personally and professionally speaking? What has the fellowship enabled you to accomplish so far?** Being here is deeply moving - this is my first time out of the country and it feels special, getting to connect with people here and having conversations on our outlook on life, what drives us, and what brings us joy in the everyday - I feel there is so much I have learned about ways of existing and being. I have had the chance to explore Capoeira as well while here, and the different music scenes of São Paulo, new experiences shaping ways of interacting and collaborating with others, as well as possibilities of growth and maturity. I have learned a lot of Portuguese while being here and have seen possibilities for communication that lie outside spoken language in the most unexpected of moments. And I think being here right after college is really impactful because I’m learning many life lessons and getting to understand myself more deeply, but most of all - I feel the sprout of a calling towards a certain path - and I am already grateful for the ways my perspective on the world has already been destroyed and rebuilt while here. Being here is also shaping questions on where I see myself settling down in the future and that very possibly being Latin America. **Lastly, what advice would you give to students interested in applying for this opportunity? In your opinion, what does Brazil have to offer for recent graduates?** I think it's really important to have some sort of understanding of, or connection to Brazilian culture and to define an aspect that genuinely resonates with you and is something you view as an opportunity for growth and learning through its exploration. It's sort of this interplay of, ‘what calls me and what do I need on a deeper level?’ I think there is much to learn on a societal level here: social inequality, the differences between how people see identity here, compared to the U.S., the forces of racism and power; but there is also much to learn from conversations with people, from the diversity in arts, music, from regional differences, from hopes and fears. *Interview conducted by Maria Lidiane Rodrigues, Communications Intern, DRCLAS Brazil Office.* Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)