Rafael Sarmiento

Rafael Sarmiento is a PhD student at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), where he is writing a dissertation on superhero mythology and neo-fascism, focusing on post-9/11 culture in the United States. Rafael has lived in 5 US states (New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Florida, and Colorado) and spent extensive time in Venezuela before finally settling in Spain. His work aims to educate and assist a society increasingly reliant on compromised media sources and AI, and bring trust and interest back to academia without gatekeeping. Like his late grandfather, a knighted Asturian scholar of Spanish literature, Rafael applies a multicultural and multifaceted approach to academia.
His current dissertation co-advisors are Jorge Sacido Romero and Laura Mª Lojo Rodríguez. As an undergraduate, he double majored in Media Studies and History at the University of New Mexico, graduating in 2019 and receiving the Gus Blaisdell Memorial Award in Critical and Creative Writing. Later, he completed a Master’s in Advanced Studies and their Applications at the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2022 under the supervision of Cristina Mourón Figueroa, and was awarded the premio extraordinario.
Outside the classroom, Rafael has extensive experience in the American film industry. He served as a creative consultant for Harry Gantz Communications, a production company led by the co-creator of HBO’s Taxicab Confessions. The most recent project is American Hate: Survivors Speak, scheduled for release in 2026 and based on the book by Georgetown Law professor Arjun Sethi. The documentary explores the rise of hate crimes in the United States following the 2016 presidential election. Screenings are planned at George R. R. Martin’s Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, with the University of Santiago de Compostela expected to host the film’s first international screening.
Rafael has also worked as a COVID Compliance Coordinator for the Peacock series Dr. Death, organized an advertising shoot for Looker Data Sciences in San Francisco, and worked as a film critic. His media work also includes award-winning political video campaigns across multiple U.S. states and awareness videos produced during the COVID-19 pandemic for the New Mexico Hospital Workers’ Union. In his spare time, Rafael blogs in a polemical and sardonic style and gives guest lectures. His freelance writing has appeared in Screen Rant, CBR, Incluvie, and Medium.