In this article, the Brazilian author undertakes a thoughtful account of the path he has followed in the social communication field. Over the last five decades, José Marques de Melo’s work has merged four main activities: practicing journalism, reflecting on his particular media environment, researching communicational phenomena, and writing books and articles in which he sets out his conclusions. Thus, based on his own circumstances and the way he has thread, Marques de Melo closes this autobiographical text pondering on the challenges that the Latin American community faces vis-à-vis studies in communication sciences.