Abstract
The article explores aspects of the academic and activist life of the teacher and popular educator Victor Valla, particularly his repeated critiques, in writings and debates, about how some researchers and some social workers, educators, medical providers, and others working with the popular classes failed to understand these groups and their discourse. Valla embraced the idea that knowledge can be produced outside the traditional walls of universities and research centers, especially by the popular classes, who embed knowledge production in their very practices. In this regard, he advocated a new theoretical and methodological posture in social, cultural, educational, and health projects among the poor, in total consonance with the presuppositions of a democratic, equitable healthcare system, as supported by those involved in the health sector.
Key words
History of health; Biography; Popular education
