Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Caracas in Venezuela. 

How did you end up in Croatia?
I arrived for the first time in Dubrovnik four years ago. My husband kept telling me how beautiful Dubrovnik was and that I must see the city with my own eyes. I agreed to come for the first time for two months just to see the city for myself. The first day I was here I remember I arrived in the evening and therefore couldn’t see much. But in the morning when I woke up and saw the sun shining on the island of Lokrum and the beauty of the nature I was lost for words. As I am an artist by profession I realised that this was a perfect place to paint and draw, I felt a very calming atmosphere which helped me relax and concentrate on working. I then said to my husband it would be nice if we could stay for four months, as you can see that was before four years so there’s obviously something special for me in Dubrovnik.

Where did you meet your husband?
I met my husband for the first time in Caracas. He was giving a seminar about “new energy” and I attended it. At the time I had a lot of problems in my private life and was feeling very nervous. Nick helped me a great deal through a very difficult time in my life.

How often do you go back to Venezuela?
In the last four years I’ve been back to Venezuela twice to see my family and friends. It’s a long way to fly, about a fourteen hour flight from Europe. I have a huge family with four brothers and six sisters, not to mention all the cousins and nieces and nephews.

What do you miss about Venezuela?
Firstly I must say that Venezuela is a very complicated country to live in at this moment in time. Yes, the climate is ideal with sunshine everyday and yes the nature is amazing, but the current political regime there makes life hard. There didn’t used to be a difference between the races there, everyone was treated the same whether you were white, black or Asian. However now the situation is different and the rift between the races has brought violence and hatred. It’s all very sad and in many ways I feel like a foreigner in my own country. Of course I really miss my family.

You are an artist by profession, how do you find working in Dubrovnik?
I have already told you that working here is perfect for me. Not only do I paint pictures but also sculptures and engravings. I work pretty much everyday but I really love my work and in some ways I am lucky that my profession is also my hobby. I haven’t yet made an exhibition yet in Dubrovnik but that’s something for the future. At the moment I haven’t many pictures in my collection as I have sold many of them. I prefer painting in a modern form and with using lots of colours. One of my loves is also engraving but unfortunately the engraving machine is very expensive to buy and the nearest one to use is in Split.

What do you think about living in Dubrovnik?
The peace and calm of the city and in fact the whole region is just what I’m looking for in my life.

How long did it take you to learn Croatian?
I couldn’t really say that I’ve learned Croatian yet, but I’m working hard on it. I need to speak more with my husband, but he normally speaks to me in Spanish which probably doesn’t help me. I’ll have to start forcing him to speak Croatian with me.

Are you the only person from Venezuela living in Dubrovnik?
As far as I know I’m the only person from Venezuela living here. There are five or six families living in Zagreb. However there are many people from South America living here, I know people from Argentina, Chile and Peru.