Randy Paul

I'm a Norteamericano living in New York with my Brazilian wife and a passion for Latin American travel, culture, politics arts and history. I've traveled in several Latin American countries, but Brazil is and will always be my greatest passion.

There is a dearth of information about Latin America and the Caribbean in most of the media in the United States and it's really a shame. Most of the attention in the media usually arises from crises: natural disasters, coups, and other political shenanigans.

What I would like to do is share some of my experiences in travel and exposure to the culture and politics of this region. I'd like to focus on the arts (especially Brazilian music), the environment, human rights and issues of development and justice. I do not purport to be an expert, but I have a pretty good knowledge of the history, politics and culture of the region as well as the difficult relationship that much of Latin America has with the USA. I speak, read and write Portuguese fairly fluently and am relatively competent in Spanish.

The name "Beautiful Horizons" is inspired by my wife. She comes from Brazil, specifically the state of Minas Gerais, the capital of which is named Belo Horizonte which, of course, means beautiful horizon in Portuguese. It is my hope that there are beautiful horizons in the very near future for this part of the world. Horizons, however, are always in the distance; a point towards which you are constantly moving, but never seeming to arrive.

I lean decidedly left, but I value freedom, so you won't see me defend Fidel Castro or Hugo Chávez, but you will see me defend Luis Inácio da Silva (Lula) here as he has always pursued his goals through democratic means.

I grew up in Miami, Alabama, Germany and (briefly) in Tennessee. I graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Film and work in the music business.

I had the great pleasure of welcoming my wife, Mércia Maria Esteves Barbosa into my life in 1994 and every day since then has been a wonderful adventure.

I'm also interested in human rights issues, especially in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia and Burma. I try to keep my cool, but like everyone, I have a temper. I value the quality of discourse, but I have little tolerance for anyone who believes that they hold a monopoly on the moral high ground. I know I don't.

Disclaimer: This site is a personal site reflecting my opinions and only my opinions.