Carlos is an anthropologist and a professional in the Australian federal government. He completed his PhD in Anthropology at the Australian National University, where his research examined the emergence and development of Afro-Cuban religion in Australia.

His research explores how people, practices and relationships move across borders and how social, religious and cultural worlds are recreated under conditions of migration and mobility. He is particularly interested in questions of belonging, cultural continuity, transnational connection, diversity and the ways migrants build meaningful lives within new social and institutional environments.

Carlos currently works for Australia’s National Environment Protection Agency. His previous Australian Government experience includes migration policy and planning at the Department of Home Affairs and international relations at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. This combination of ethnographic research and policy experience informs his broader interest in the relationship between migration, institutions and lived experience.

He is currently developing his doctoral research into a book, The Saints Understand: The Creative Continuity of Santería in Australia.