Alena Suazo

How does colonization and oppression shape a culture? And how do communities gather the strength to resist and take back their independence? That’s what Alena Elizabeth Suazo hopes to discover when she travels through Africa. She plans to begin in South Africa, and then head to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Egypt. “From Egypt I will fly to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and make my way west to Chile,” she said. “I will travel north through Chile, to Bolivia and Peru, and finally will end in Mexico.” By immersing herself in these indigenous cultures, Suazo hopes to understand them more deeply.