I had an opportunity to meet Karla last year on one of my trips
to Spain. My interview preview
will give you a bit of background on our meeting. Karla is a
fascinating individual, a painter, writer and overall creative
person, but also an entrepreneur with a bit of an alternative
flair. Here is what she has to say about her experience as a
North American expatriate living in Spain.
Karla, enjoying life in Spain.
1. Tell us a bit about your background. Where did you
grow up, what is your educational background and what did you
do before you moved to Spain?
I was born in Toronto and raised in a small provincial town
called Bowmanville - just east of Toronto. I moved back to Toronto
after high school and attended Humber College in Rexdale where
I studied creative arts - like fashion design, photography and
writing. After college, I opened my first enterprise - a boutique
in Toronto's trendy Queen St. area - that sold weird and wonderful
wearable art objects.
I sold that business in 1983 and went to the University of Waterloo
where I received an honours degree in Fine Arts. I graduated
in 1990 - and started my second enterprise - called Zona Communications.
It was a communications company - and I jumped into the internet
with both feet. I went on to build my first Internet enterprise
- which I sold to a California company in 2000. I lived in sunny
southern California after the sale of my enterprise - until
the New York World Trade Centre tragedy - September 2001.
I packed up everything and went back to Bowmanville. Then 10
days later - I packed some items and flew to Zurich, Switzerland
and married my long-time Spanish boyfriend - who had been working
in Zurich for 8 years. We packed up his apartment - and by December
2001 - Christmas - we moved to Spain.
Karla's art.
2. You now live on the Costa Blanca in Spain. How long
have you lived there and what made you move there?
We have been here since December 2001. We didn't know where
we were going to live - so the first logical place to go was
to where Jose, my husband was born - Xativa. This is a castled
city in the interior of the province of Valencia. We lived there
for 6 months. We were unemployed and free to travel around Spain
- as it was our honeymoon. We bought a 4x4 and traveled up mountains
and down into valleys and places that no tourist would ever
think of going.
However, we really wanted to move out to the coast - to the
sea. We had met in a fishing / holiday village called Javea
- back in 1988 - when I was a University student. I came to
Spain twice - on student loans - to study art at the Prado in
Madrid. Then, I would head out to the coast to party and hit
the beaches.
My Spanish sweetie was a waiter in a fine little restaurant
called - El Solomilllo - right on the beach. We fell into a
crazy kind of love - and spent two wild summers together. We
kept in touch for the next years though a friend - until the
Internet was developed.
When we came to visit Javea from Xativa we found an old friend,
Carmelo. He gave my husband a job and we moved over to the coast.
We now make Benitachell our home - which is only five minutes
from Javea.
The waterfront in the scenic little town of Javea.
3. What is it like to live in Spain? What are the main
cultural differences between living in North America and living
in Spain? What was the adjustment phase like initially when
you moved there?
Spain is an old culture, full of raw passion, tragedy, love
and a fascination with the macabre. It takes some time to get
used to the intimate nature of the people. They are a nation
of huggers and kissers. In North American culture where a handshake
is normal to greet people, here in Spain it is a hug and a kiss
on both cheeks. This is standard for men and women. No one ever
thinks that you are gay because you are kissing a member of
the same sex. This is a silly notion.
Spain is a noisy country. They have a great love of fireworks.
Motorcycles do not have mufflers and they roar like big beasts
through the streets. People don't talk to each other - they
yell. A North American would think that fight is taking place
in a bar when the Spanish get going. But they are not fighting,
this is normal communications.
Spain is a dangerous country. Every criminal who flees persecution
in their own country comes to Spain. Every type of mob is here,
Russians, Romanians, Italians, Yugoslavians. Plus every killer
soldier left over from some Central European war. Terrorism
has been a common scenario in Spain thanks to the Basque separatist
movement (which learned everything they know from Canada's FLQ).
Every week, an unknown body will show up dead in a ditch due
to some Columbian drug payment that didn't get paid.
Drinking and Driving in Spain is normal. Death is cheap on the
motorways. Every weekend families say goodbye to loved ones
as the jaws of death scrape the mangled bodies of young and
old from a twisted up piece of metal that used to be a car.
Beer is not considered a dangerous drink, yet it has a 5% alcohol
content. If you do need to get one you can go through the Drive-Thru
window at your nearest McDonalds. Both wine and spirits are
very cheap in Spain - so it is an alcoholic's dream come true.
Smoking is not prohibited and cigarettes are very cheap. Everyone
here starts smoking at a very young age. The women stay nice
and thin as they don't eat, they just smoke. Everyone has black
circles under their eyes. The mix of the cheap brandy and cheap
cigarettes creates for very smelly people.
4. You have now spent several years living in Spain.
What places have you seen? What festivals have you experienced?
What gastronomic pleasures have you enjoyed?
Our favourite festival is the Fallas Festival in Valencia. We
look forward to the first two weeks of March with such passion.
It is the most amazing festival both visually and emotionally.
The combination of art and fire, noise and danger - it all comes
together in this festival.
We have so many favourite foods - like paella and sausages packed
with pork and mountain grown herb. We love flan and rice puddings.
We love all types of seafood and fresh veggies from the market.
Karla's art.
5. You are always involved in a variety of endeavours.
Tell us about the various websites you are working on.
My husband and I try and keep all of our important information
on our own website - http://www.darocas.com/ - this
is where I keep track of my paintings too. Then, I have another
website called http://www.spainlifestyle.com/
where I store my writings and poems and photos of the renovations
on our house. Then, we have another site called http://www.spainphotos.net/
where we store our Spanish adventure photos.
6. In addition to web sites, you also participate in
several business organizations. What are they and what is your
role?
http://www.palomera.com/ is
a website that seeks out and tracks what the Spanish business
community is doing and we can watch business trends.
Last year, I started a business club for women - which has grown
and we are actually hosting International Women's Day. It just
goes to show the power of women to make something out of nothing.
This is a club of international women who have come to live
on this coast. The website is http://www.wibc-spain.com/
7. Obviously both you and your husband have a strong
entrepreneurial orientation. You are now also involved in a
project that involves a luxury Canadian cedar log home development
in Spain. Tell us more about that project.
We both love wood homes. The homes in Spain are made from cement
- so they tend to be cool in summer, which is good, but during
winter and the stormy season cement homes are damp, cold and
clammy. They are always full of cement dust and if they don't
get enough sun they get moldy.
The Spanish don't have a good understanding of wood home building
but the many of immigrants from England, France, Switzerland,
Germany and so forth love their wood homes. So I hooked up with
some old university friends from Canada who design and build
wood homes in order to be able to offer a Canadian cedar log
home to the Spanish landscape and marketplace. We are currently
working on a project with a Spanish developer to build the first
wooden home community in Spain. That website is called http://www.spainloghomes.com/
8. In addition to your entrepreneurial ventures, you
are also an artist. Tell us a bit about your artistic background
and the creative endeavours you are involved in now.
I love to paint. I had not done it for many years due to being
so involved with the internet industry. When we moved here I
was so happy to get back to my passion and use my skills that
I developed at university. Now, I paint to please myself but
the paintings sell very easily to people buying new villas or
to tourists.
Karla's art.
9. Talk to us about the expatriate experience in Spain.
Where do community of foreigners live, how do they interact,
what types of business and activities are they involved in,
and how has that changed the country?
The coastlines of Spain are turning into very international
communities. It reminds me of what California and Florida must
have been like back in the 60's and 70's. Every retired person
from northern Europe is moving to Spain for the sun and sea.
They are bringing their cultural mix and adding it to the Spanish
culture. The rest of Spain is changing too - for the good and
for the bad. There are more social reforms happening in Spain
now - for women and for labour and social welfare. The new government
is young and progressive.
The bad side is that the progress is too fast and the natural
beauty and landscape is being filled up with cement houses looking
like low cost housing, but as holiday homes they are fetching
a huge price. This inflation is eating away at the poor in this
country and now young Spanish people are looking at an era where
they will not be able to buy a home.
10. What advice would give to someone else who is considering
moving to Spain?
Don't' move to Spain unless you are willing to be flexible.
There is nothing stable about this country and perhaps there
never will be. If you are rich, and can live off a pension and
golf everyday you will be fine. If you think you can move to
Spain and get a job forget it. However, if you are an entrepreneur
and can see the holes in the marketplace and you have the guts
and know-how to fill the hole you will be fine.
Thanks, Karla, for sharing your viewpoints and experiences.
I appreciate your insider's insights into a culture that has
fascinated me for a long time. Good luck with your endeavours
in Spain!
Related articles:
Article preview and background information on Karla
Darocas
Check out Karla's views on
Spanish culture, family life and gender relations.
Click here
for my travel report from Barcelona.
Click here
for my travel report from Tarragona.
Click here for
my travel report from Javea.
Click here
for my travel report from Sitges.
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (1)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (2)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (3)
Click here
for my travel report from Ibiza (4)
Click here for my country
travel guide on Spain.