The day I got laid off, I was sitting in a coworking space in Medellín.

I had gone to visit family and planned to work remotely. Instead I got a notification from my manager that morning and just like that, I was unemployed. In Colombia.

I was devastated. Then I looked around and remembered where I was.

I extended my trip. I explored. I danced. I ate. I met incredible people. I spent time with my family and I just came alive. I'd been visiting Medellín my whole life, but being there alone as an adult showed me a whole new side of it and I fell even more in love.

Somewhere in that trip something clicked. I realized the way I travel is not how most people travel.

Growing up with a mom who worked for American Airlines meant I was on planes before most kids had ever left their hometown. That early access to the world shaped everything. I went on to study International Studies and earn a dual MBA in International Business, living and working abroad in Spain, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Ireland along the way. Some were required for school. Others happened on a whim because I was craving a new adventure.

A few years ago I found salsa dancing and it opened up a whole new side of Latin culture for me. The dance community has a way of pulling you into the heart of a place faster than anything else and it quickly became one of the most meaningful ways I connect with wherever I am in the world.

When I travel I am all in. The food, the people, the music, the dancing, the landscapes. I want to eat what locals eat, move through nature, find the dance floor, make real connections, and leave a place feeling like I actually understood it, and like I left a piece of myself there too. Not just like I visited. And I believe in doing it in a way that respects and supports the communities that make these places special.

I built Avispada to share that with other people. Starting with Medellín, Colombia. The land my family is from, one of the many places that shaped me, and the city that reminded me who I was on the day everything else fell apart.