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Juan R. Valdez is a teacher and a writer. He enjoys teaching as a way of helping students to optimally develop their communicative skills, while they also develop a critical sense of community and coexistence in a diverse and complex world. Juan belongs to the tradition of maroon intellectuals and socionaturalists who roam at will between the city and the wilderness and between science and literature. His writings explore the experiences, visions, and stories of those who walk the earth and leave little trace. His publications include: Tracing Dominican identity: the writings of Pedro Henríquez Ureña (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and En busca de la identidad: la obra de Pedro Henríquez Ureña (Ediciones Katatay, 2015). His latest book Sendas Extraviadas (Universidad Autónoma de México-UAM, 2024) is a series of essays on "aimless" walking that explore the possibility of overcoming perilous notions of politics, absurd racism, and consumerist madness. It also proposes strengthening our sense of place and belonging in the world by cultivating our relationship with nature. When Juan is not teaching, studying, or reading, he's hiking, tending to his plants, and having a good laugh.