Zest For Life

Tell us more about what you do for work.
I’m a writer. I write novels, more specifically feminist fiction novels, in Spanish. I also teach writing to younger writers, like my partner, Alberto. In fact, he used to be my teacher.

What first inspired you to start writing?
I started writing after applying to workshops to learn more about writing. I always like trying new methods of creative expression, because I enjoy sharing what’s on my mind, so I thought writing would be a good avenue for me to do that.

To me, writing is so fun because it’s as if you become other people, and it is an opportunity to live different lives. Writing is a funny thing. It helps me live and experience more. You can tell stories, you can get people concerned with social issues, and they can get involved in political themes, all in the same novel.

Do you have any book recommendations?
One of my favourite novels is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I also love writers like Sara Mesa, Chuck Palahniuk and Yasmina Reza.

Outside of writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I like reading and watching films. It’s really important for me to connect with the social and cultural world. I also love consuming poetry in the spoken word style.

What’s something your younger self would be surprised to learn about your current self?
I think my younger self would be surprised to know that I can now speak in front of people with self-confidence and no worries, and that I have an excellent memory.

That’s a cute Justin Bieber bag. Are you a fan of his?
No (laughs). Alberto got this bag for me, but he doesn’t like Justin Bieber either. It’s more of an inside joke. We were in Korea and he bought me a book by Nietzsche, the philosopher, and then just gave this to me together as a joke.

Your eyeliner is really colourful! Can you tell us more about it?
It’s just for fun actually, because I think wearing more colours is always a good thing! But actually I didn’t intend for it to look like this. I painted my eyelashes, and it smeared onto my eyelids because of the rain and humidity (laughs).