He was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, and earned his doctorate from Union Theological Seminary. He has published articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese on the relation between globalization, immigration, multiculturalism, and postcolonial theologies/liturgies, worship, the arts, and Christian faith. Eucharist and Globalization: Redrawing the Borders of Eucharistic Hospitality was published by Wipf and Stock in 2013, and What Worship Has To Do With It: Interpreting Life, Church, and the World Liturgically is forthcoming.