OUT OF HOME

Recently, I've befriended many incredible people from art studies. It's been amazing getting their input on what I do now, as I feel I'm walking a similar path. Yet, this wasn't where I went to school or formed my skills. I sometimes joke with them that in the future, someone will look at my work and ask, "What did this guy study?" And when someone answers "advertising," it will all make sense. Honestly, the future I truly dream about is one where no one asks "what did they study or where did they work," and instead, their creative work just speaks for itself.

We still have a long way to go to reach that point, and that certainly wasn't the prevailing mindset when I went to university. I earned a degree in what I now call "the media arts." And I won't lie, it's definitely a gray area! In my opinion, studying anything related to media should go hand-in-hand with developing your own strong set of ethical and moral values. Otherwise, if you're left to your own devices, it can be a slippery slope, especially once you discover you're good at it.

While at university, one of my main priorities was to become "good" at whatever I chose. I wasn't particularly impressed by the classes, so I took matters into my own hands. I joined the trenches of one of the most intense and sometimes even toxic working environments out there: advertising agencies. For most of my university years, I worked while studying. My first job was as a "teen marketing officer" at Fanta. It was 2017, and the concept of average people "creating content" – or, as I'd call it, "recording dumb funny stuff and posting it online" – was just beginning to brew. The company launched an initiative to find "promising talent" and actually hire them to work at the agency. The team spent months conducting workshops nationwide to find candidates. After the selection process, three of us were chosen: Jordan Quimi, Clark Nova, and Geronimo Burneo. :) Under the supervision of the great copywriter Fernanda Soria, we embarked on a corporate journey together that was intense, but we made it through! We even had the chance to meet and work with really cool people like the actress Erika Russo (she's super sweet and was awesome to work with), and for more complex videos, we had the support of the Vice Colombia production team.

After that experience, I was a bit burned out but still had a thirst to become even better at my craft. Back then, I was hesitant to choose a specific role or label within the advertising industry. Did I want to be a "creative" or a "strategist"? Was I meant to be a "graphic designer" or a "copywriter"? It felt very daunting, and I thought my indecision would be counterproductive. Looking back, I had learned so much, and my working standards were significantly higher. I had developed a demanding muscle. To continue my training, I simply invested my time and got involved in every opportunity to work with real clients. I must give credit to my degree coordinator for all the "real client" opportunities she brought us.

One project that truly warms my heart was for the owners of “La Casa de la Música” in Quito. During that semester, I formed a working group with Mafer, Anto, and Mar. We had already connected well on several class assignments, so for this final project, we poured our hearts into a campaign raising awareness for how the passion for music is shared through generations. We even shot a video at my grandparents' house! It was lovely to work with them.

Looking back, I can see that for the first time in my life, I had developed a competitive edge. I did get a bit carried away by it, and I wish I had the tools back then to balance my ego and enjoy what I was doing more. Without fully realizing it, through trial and error and participating in various competitions, I found a sweet spot where my teammates started feeling like friends. I had begun taking more advanced classes, which meant mingling with the older students. I think they saw something in me and invited me to work with them. We did a couple of projects together, but I feel the one that truly strengthened our bond was a category management proposal for Maggi called “Los Colores de tu Receta.”

With our group—Victoria Salvador, Ariela Grubel, Eli Flores, Isabela Lopez, Charlie Cruz, and Geronimo Burneo—we spent over two months actively visiting and researching low-cost supermarkets, observing customer behavior in the spices aisle. We needed to find a solution that would not just help Maggi, but the entire category. I believe this was one of my first encounters with the concept of “to elevate yourself, elevate the whole community.” (Though, through a more optimistic lens now, the company just wanted to boost their sales, lol.) Still, it was extremely fun to work with these guys. We even got the chance to pitch the idea to the Nestlé regional director at the headquarters. Another great group I had the chance to work with was for a Tuenti campaign with Cristina Palacios, Emilia Jacome, Ariel Aguas, Charlie Cruz, and Geronimo Burneo. When we won an Effie College for this project, it was a glimpse of light during isolated times.

Eventually, it was time to go back to the office. This time, I was managing the social media accounts for Forever 21 in Ecuador. It was a big challenge and a significant job for a university student, but I was ready for it. I started working there mid-2018; again, the internet was in a very different stage. Back then, terms like “influencer” or “going viral” were still reserved for sickness or flu, not for a desired state. Imagine trying to convince corporate "mummies" to invest in paying someone outside the company just because they had a “cool feed.” As you can imagine, it wasn't easy, but as an overworked 21-year-old, I tried my best. Even though I was a bit isolated from the digital team, I had someone who had my back in the office, someone who has become a friend, mentor, and ally: the incredible Camila Montero (she was the visual merchandising manager at the time).

This time, I was working remotely from Quito but connected to an international team managing accounts across Latin America. It was clear that some of these countries were more advanced in content marketing. Part of the content we shared consisted of photos and videos produced by influencers from other Latin countries. I really wanted to break free from this reposting loop and ensure that Ecuadorian content was being posted in other countries. But this time, there was an extra challenge: I wasn't the one taking the pictures; I was behind the scenes pulling the strings. I had to be very strategic and develop a vision, sometimes pushing further than what I was "allowed to do" by the big boss at HQ. The final decisions were being made by people outside my country, who didn't fully understand that (back then) Ecuador was a bit behind in the digital game, even though incredible content creators were emerging. I had to do a lot of convincing and fight for chances. But in the end, it was worth it! The quality of the work spoke for itself, regardless of the number of followers or likes my influencers had. And how did quality win? Well… the content produced in Ecuador while I managed the accounts was still being reposted by other countries years after I had left the job. That made me super proud.

I'll omit many other jobs I worked because I'm trying my best to remember the good times. If I’m being honest, I was severely depressed while all of this was going on. Even though I was somewhat satiating this competitive thirst I'd developed, a big part of me was being left behind: my heart. There was one job that made me realize how important and valuable it is to truly pour your heart into your work; that job was helping someone jump-start their dream project. During my corporate experience, a constant theme brought up by many people I met was, “I’m doing this now, but eventually I want to start my own thing.” Then years would go by, and their "own thing" would become a distant youthful dream. I was scared that would happen to me too. So when I got the opportunity to join a project sparked by passion, I immediately said yes!

I can proudly say that I was part of the team that helped Corina Maruri launch Cora Creatives to the world. During my time at Cora, I was completely amazed by how, when you are encouraged to put your heart into your work, a three-person team can feel like the most powerful army out there. As anyone who has started their own agency knows, at the beginning, you need to learn to do everything and do it properly. I learned so much working there—from designing a whole business fair booth, to pitch bibles, high-speed photoshoots on a Miami highway, and even the whole team hand-drawing illustrations during Christmas dinner—what a time to be alive! All thanks to the power we all have in our ❤️ cora.

Since then, my approach to work has been very different and very heart-driven. I no longer act as a mercenary, lending my "media arts" craft to the highest-paying client. Regardless of how shiny it might look on my CV, my heart needs to be aligned with the work. Consequently, my corporate work output has decreased, and I'm okay with that because I'm actively transmuting those skills into my art, which is improving and increasing. Still, I've had awesome opportunities I'm extremely grateful for, like designing the visual campaign for my mom’s exhibition at Real Jardín Botánico in Madrid and even developing the branding for her own passion project. I mainly work on my own stuff now. I know my skills, and I know my values and worth. Working for external clients is reserved for very special ones; they'll have to win over my heart first. Maybe the curls will wake up the marketing beast, who knows?…

More on Instagram