people want to know
Do you?
Maybe you don’t know me, or perhaps you think you do. You might be wondering how you landed here. In this section, you’ll find some frequently asked questions about me. Feel free to explore if you’re curious to know more.
people want to know
Do you?
Maybe you don’t know me, or perhaps you think you do. You might be wondering how you landed here. In this section, you’ll find some frequently asked questions about me. Feel free to explore if you’re curious to know more.
1. Are all the photos on this website your own?
Absolutely yes! Many of them were taken during my first trip to Europe, and some were even featured on a cover and inside a book for a Costa Rican band called ‘Zona.’
On further thought, just one is not mine: the one of myself. That particular one was taken by an amazing Art Director based in Costa Rica. His name is Alejandro Ibarra.
2. In your advertising career, what project challenged you the most creatively, and how did you overcome those challenges?
There have been many; I can’t say there’s one in particular because each project is a learning opportunity over time.
Every project should be taken as a challenge that spans different levels: convincing yourself it’s an opportunity, convincing your team it’s an opportunity, convincing your boss it’s an opportunity, convincing your client it’s an opportunity, getting it on air, and transforming that opportunity into results.
Each project is an opportunity.
3. How do you balance your career in advertising with your venture into the world of stand-up comedy? Do you find synergies between both disciplines?
Certainly. While advertising is a business, the creative component is its heart. In comedy, while it’s also a business, creativity prevails.
I’m finding the balance. I’m an apprentice in comedy.
4. What is your main life philosophy, and how do you apply it in your daily decisions?
If you can sleep peacefully, you have everything you need in life.
Every decision I make should lead me to feel good about myself, thinking that it will not only affect me but the people around me in the short or long term.
5. Throughout your career, you have held roles ranging from Art Director to Group Director in the advertising industry. What was the key moment in your professional evolution that led you to assume roles of greater responsibility?
I must confess that initially, it was done irresponsibly, thinking I could do things better. Of course, in accepting more responsibilities and especially in managing people, I realized it wasn’t easy. I made mistakes, but each one has shaped me. Each error became an opportunity for professional improvement.
I feel that my key professional evolutions with awareness, not just because “I can do it better,” occurred a year before leaving Costa Rica for the first time and solidified when I was in another country without knowing anyone and had to learn again.
6. What would you say is your unique approach or philosophy when it comes to your work, and how has it contributed to your success in the advertising industry across different roles and countries?
The only rockstar should be your work, not you. What’s the use of having many Cannes Lions if you’re not proud of your day-to-day work
7. Working in three different countries, you have surely experienced various advertising cultures. How have you adapted your creative and strategic approach to meet the needs of such diverse audiences?
By learning again. Being in different cultures has not only grounded me in my place in the industry but also showed me that humility should always be with us to move forward anywhere and in any situation.
8. In your experience as a creative director, what was the advertising campaign you most enjoyed creating, and why?
All of them. No favorites. All have brought laughter, challenges, and many lovely people who made the projects possible. A creative director without a team is no one.
9. As someone who has been through two marriages, how do you define the concept of love, and what lessons have you learned throughout your relationships?
Love begins with understanding yourself first, what you want, and where you’re going. Why? Because if you’re not clear on that, you won’t be able to lead a life with another person.
If I’ve learned something, it is to listen, but also to say what you feel. Keeping things to yourself causes long-term problems. If by saying what you feel the relationship ends, it was never a relationship.
10. What is the most valuable experience you have gained from your almost two years of therapy, and how has it impacted your perspective on life?
Realizing that people are more than meets the eye. Finding so much within myself that needs repairing has made me more empathetic towards people around me.
11. As someone who has explored different artistic facets, from music to comedy, how do you find inspiration for your creative projects, and how has your artistic expression evolved over time?
Life is inspiration. Not enjoying life is missing out on many beautiful things, many things that will give you a reason to wake up every day smiling.
It has evolved unintentionally. I feel that this evolution has occurred to survive. What I mean is, I have delved into other disciplines when I felt that life was telling me, “You need this. Later, you’ll understand why.”
12. You transitioned from being an Art Director to roles such as Copywriter and Digital Strategist. How has your experience in these roles influenced your overall approach as a Creative and Strategist?
It has been very exciting to understand that a creative or strategic process has the same levels as art direction.
The focus on details is what has contributed the most from art direction throughout my career.
13. As a Creative Director and Group Director, you led teams on creative projects. How do you balance team management with the need to keep creativity and innovation at the center of your projects?
Understanding that the creative freedom lies with team members and that as a director, that freedom is seen from a distance because it’s your role to discern what will be presented to the client and what will not.
A director must listen to drive creativity, not limit it. Limits come within the framework of whether this is what is needed for the client’s business.
14. As Managing Director, you have undoubtedly faced significant challenges. Can you share an experience where you overcame a particularly difficult challenge and the lessons you learned?
COVID. In 2020, I started Digitas Guatemala with Publicis Groupe Central America. COVID came, and we had to build an agency from home (when no one knew what remote work was) under conditions I wish I could forget.
What did I learn? While Digitas was the only Central American agency with outstanding growth in 2020, many things should have been discussed more and not just accepted due to the circumstances.
15. You have had a diverse advertising career, from Art Director to Managing Director in three different countries. What do you consider the most impactful advertising project you have been involved in, and why?
The launch of Digitas Guatemala in the midst of COVID-19. Not just because of direct work with Publicis Groupe. Not just because it was the first 100% digital agency of an international communication group in Guatemala. Not just because of changing countries again. Not just because of experiencing forced remote work.
Opening an agency and seeing it grow from 1 to 70 people in two and a half years, reaching breakeven in its second year, and achieving almost 17% organic growth. By the time of my departure, four months before the end of the year, this organic growth had already reached 75%.
16. You have lived in different countries and had an international career. How has this shaped your identity and your perception of the world?
It has led me to see that humanity lost its way when some felt superior to others. We all have problems, we all love, we are all human. Experiencing other countries has made me realize that humans are foolish to seek differences that make us feel superior.
17. You are trilingual, speaking Spanish, English, and French. How has this ability enriched your life and your intercultural experiences?
Each new language learned unlocks a new level of the internet.
18. Now you're working for the United States. How would you compare the advertising environment and expectations in the United States with your previous experiences?
There is no comparison. This experience has led me to understand the business better than ever.
19. As a professional who has evolved through various roles, what do you consider the key skill that has allowed you to adapt and succeed in different functions throughout your career?
Understanding that you must learn every day.
20. In your journey, you have been both a Creative and a Digital Strategist. How do you find the perfect balance between creativity and strategy in your current projects?
Creativity is in everything. Creativity is solving a problem. Strategy is charting a path for creativity. In turn, you have to be creative to chart that path.
21. When taking on leadership roles, such as Managing Director and Group Director for a Media Department, how did you integrate creativity and strategy into media initiatives?
By making people working in media realize that everyone has creativity, and strategy is not just about dividing a budget; it is charting the path to solve a business problem.
22. You’ve worked in the advertising industry in three countries. What are the most significant differences you've noticed in terms of creative and strategic approaches?
Each one has had a different level in both aspects. I must say that Honduras was at a low level when I arrived, but when I returned to Costa Rica, the level stagnated.
I think the evolution of digital in a region where advertising didn’t have strong foundations has led the focus on retail to prevail over ideas.
23. If you could have a conversation with any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
Georges Méliès. He did more than everybody thinks for cinema. He was a magician who re-invented entertainment.
24. What is your all-time favorite movie, and which scene has left a lasting impression on you?
Ufff… there are many. Just to mention one, I could say ‘El Libro de Piedra.’ That movie still gives me goosebumps. I like it because it’s one of the few horror movies that still scares me.
25. If you had to live in a fictional city from a series or movie, which one would it be, and what aspect of that city attracts you the most?
Basin City. What I like the most is that you can see what today’s society really is.
26. Imagine you have the opportunity to have dinner with three people, alive or deceased. Who would they be, and what dish would you share?
Einstein, Rick Braun, and Frank Miller. Chinese food made in Costa Rica.
27. What is the skill or talent you have always wished to have but haven't developed yet?
Swimming.
28. If you could time travel and give advice to your 15-year-old self, what would you say?
“Quit smoking, and also give advice to your mother.”
29. Is there any cultural tradition or festival that you find particularly fascinating, even if you don't belong to that culture?
No really, I don’t have a specific one. I try to participate in or learn about any that catches my attention.
30. If your life were a novel, what would be the title of the current chapter you are in?
Learning from what I have learned.
31. Do you have any goal or dream that you have always wanted to pursue but haven't had the chance to do so yet?
Go to Easter Island.
32. If you had to choose a superpower for the day, what would it be and how would you use it?
Reading minds or invisibility.
33. As someone who has experienced life in the Costa Rican countryside and also lived in urban environments, how would you say these settings have influenced your perspective on life?
In many ways. Growing up in the countryside and transitioning to living in the city and other cities outside my country has led me to understand many aspects of life, both positive and negative.
34. As a runner, what has been your most challenging race so far, and what motivated you to face that challenge?
More than a race, it has been becoming someone who enjoys running. It all started without realizing it about 15 years ago, never serious. In Honduras, I tried it, but I couldn’t get past 10km.
Upon my return to Costa Rica, because of my dog Bobby (RIP), this madness began, leading me to run a half marathon. And no, I don’t want to run a marathon. No plans in sight.
35. As a trilingual individual, in which language do you find you can express your thoughts most authentically, and why?
Certainly in my native Spanish, but in French, I have found that words and sentences are better handled to make the message clear. I dream of picking up my French again to discover more truths in the romantic language.
36. In your time as a musician in a teenage ska band, what was the most memorable concert, and why?
Definitely, our big concert was at “La Finca.”
This was with my first ska band (JFSKA). This place was the center of the best underground concerts in Costa Rica.
We packed the place, people went crazy, and there I saw so many years invested in music, studies, arrangements, and fun with my friends turned into a memory that I know none of us who were there will forget.
37. As someone who has been in the advertising industry and is now venturing into comedy, how do you find the connection between advertising creativity and comedy in your life?
I feel like I should have started with comedy earlier. It’s very similar. Advertising is about different business objectives to achieve. Comedy is about an entertainment goal and, in my case, generating a thought.
38. What would be your ideal punk rock song to soundtrack a marathon in the Costa Rican countryside?
Definitely have two songs in mind, both from Bad Religion: “A Walk” and “Better Off Dead.”
39. If you could go back to being a child for a day, what carefree activity from your childhood would you enjoy again?
Lying down with a small can of condensed milk in my mouth, while the milk slowly goes down my throat.
40. If you could switch places with a mythical creature for a day, which one would it be, and what craziness would you do in its skin?
Definitely a Faun, and I don’t think it’s necessary to say what I would do.
41. If you could describe the style of comedy you want to do with a single unusual word, what would it be, and why?
Bebop. Because I want it to be expected but unexpected at the same time.
42. What would be your absurd yet effective advice for achieving spiritual enlightenment?
The only blame your parents have in your development as a person is not telling you that they are not to blame because your development depends on you.
43. Imagine if your thoughts were visible thought balloons above your head, what would be the most extravagant one people would see in your day-to-day?
“Why did I have to grow up so fast?”
44. If your most challenging advertising projects were characters in a sitcom, which ones would they be, and what would be the funniest episode?
Alf, definitely. I believe the one where Alf makes a strange sound with his voice and provokes fear in Willy.
45. Imagine if your days turned into episodes of a surreal TV series. What would be the title of the last episode, and what craziness would happen?
“I became a Japanese comedian on Mars.”
I woke up with the awareness I have today but discovered that I am now Japanese and that my success as a comedian is on Mars.
46. What is the most absurd story you've used as a creative director to sell a product?
A guy hesitates to dance with a girl who has been staring at him for a long time. He leans against a wall, and a lizard crawls into his shirt, forcing him onto the dance floor while trying to get rid of it.
47. If your teenage ska band had to compete in a world music tournament, what song would they perform to win?
“Contra el viento,” it’s the song that made us recognized in two different bands.
48. If your website had a magic button granting a technological wish to each visitor, what would be the most requested and humorous wish?
The most requested and humorous would be to know the secret to travel to other planets to become a pizza seller or become “Seymour” from the Silverhawks series. (“Taxideral” in Latin Spanish)
49. What is the most absurd anecdote from your life that inspired you to venture into the world of stand-up comedy?
Realizing at 39 that the person they always told me was my father wasn’t (although I always felt it), and that I have no idea who my father is.
50. If your therapist were comic book characters, what would be their weirdest therapeutic superpower?
Erasing all the filler words from your superego for a more fluid conversation.
51. If you had to describe your job as a creative director in a TV series, what would be the title of the pilot episode, and who would be the extravagant protagonist?
“Do you really need it for yesterday?”
Starring Pope John Paul II.
52. If your love life translated into a ska song, what would be the title, and what would be the key notes?
“The best has not come yet,” its notes would be A, C, E, A (A minor).
53. Imagine your website as an exquisite dish. What would be the digital ingredients, and what unique flavor would it have?
Trolls sautéed in garlic, memes steamed, and chats uncovered. Its flavor would be like a homemade Beyond Meat Burger.
54. What was the most surreal moment you experienced during your years in therapy, and how did it help you grow?
Discovering that the voices in my head are people I met as a child. It helped me realize who they are so I can control them.
55. If you could merge two everyday objects to create a new and absurd one, which ones would you choose, and how would you describe it?
A coffee cup and a paperclip. It would be the perfect tool for holding idea notes while drinking coffee.
56. What was the strangest briefing you received, and how did you turn it into a successful campaign?
XXXX
57. If you could invent a new tradition for celebrating your birthdays, what would it be, and what unusual activities would it include?
Being able to tell people what I think without worrying that they will get mad because even if they get mad, they can’t get mad because it’s my birthday.
Unusual activities? I would be looking for them for 24 hours on my birthday to talk to them.
58. Imagine if your teenage ska band had a punk pet. How would it be, and what instrument would it play in the band?
We had it, we called it Penguin. Hahahaha. No, seriously, I think it would have been a boxing kangaroo.
59. If your jokes were tools, which one would be the sharpest for making people laugh, and which one would be the most unusual but effective?
A chainsaw and a nail gun.
60. If your life in French transformed into a play, what would be the title, and who would be the main characters?
“Desiree, je ne sais pas pourquoi je t’ai embrassé”
It would be starring the Fraggle Rock.
61. If you were a superhero in the advertising world, what would be your special superpower, and what would be your comical weakness?
Being able to travel one day back in time to deliver yesterday’s pending tasks.
My weakness would be only being able to go back once a week because if I do it twice in less than 7 days, I would lose a day of my adolescence.
62. If your childhood imaginary playmates returned as advisors in your life, what unusual advice would they give you today?
“I told you not to burn the school piano. That made you change the future, and that’s why Costa Rica has Rodrigo Chavez as president. Now, you’re going to have to adopt 5 street dogs within 2 years to fix the future of humanity.”
63. What would be your absurd motto to face daily challenges, and how would you apply that philosophy in life?
“If this mattered, people would take it seriously.”
I’ve been trying to apply it since 2022.
64. If subliminal messages in ads had the power to change reality, what would be the ad that would alter the world in the most unexpected way?
“The mother of fruits.” Everyone asking a mom if she has fruit juice would wear a hat like Carmen Miranda and dance like her.
65. Si tu pouvais donner un conseil inspirant en français à ton moi plus jeune sur la vie et l'apprentissage, quel serait-il?
“Arrête de fumer dès maintenant.”
66. If you could give a gift to your 8-year-old self, what symbolic object would you choose and why?
A fantasy book that inspires him to travel, see the world, and realize that everything he desires is easy to achieve if he always believes it’s easy to do.
67. If your jokes were a parachute jump, what would be the most intense emotion you'd experience when launching into the stand-up stage?
The one I feel today: the adrenaline of overcoming fear when people start laughing.
68. If your teenage tattoos came to life and could speak, what absurd stories would they tell about those rebellious days?
When I gave a girl I liked from school a baby chick.
69. Imagine if your experiences in the Costa Rican countryside became legends. What would be the most epic and humorous story you would tell future generations?
It could be when one rainy afternoon, we skated inside the school, graffiti on the walls, and almost got caught by the police.
The funny part was that years later, one of my lifelong friends who was there that day and I were bored. We were listening to the radio, and a confessions program started. We called pretending to be other people to confess everything publicly. The curious thing is that a call came in from someone saying he always knew it was us (the fake identities) who did that in school.
We could say it’s a legend for some generations.
70. What was the most absurd situation you found yourself in while being a young punk in the Costa Rican countryside?
When a friend of mine was attacked by a thug they called Ardilla (Squirrel).
It was all absurd those months of persecution because he couldn’t face it alone and called his mom to defend him. That story deserves a TV series.
71. If you could share a snack with your 10-year-old self, what childhood foods would you include in the picnic?
Possibly meat. The story is that my family was very poor when I was a child. We couldn’t afford to eat meat very often. For my 10th birthday, they told me I could have whatever I wanted. I asked to eat meat all day. They did it. It’s an effort from my mom and grandmother that I will never forget.
Since 2008, I’ve been a vegetarian. Ironic, isn’t it?
72. If your favorite brand logos were animated beings, which one would be the funniest, and what mischief would it get into?
The Lacoste crocodile. It would spend the whole day biting other people’s food.
73. What is the most absurd story you've experienced during your almost two years in therapy?
Understanding that my last Latina boss has more issues than me, and her way of being is just a reflection of that. I was never the problem.
74. If you could turn any everyday moment into a comedy sketch, which one would you choose, and what would you do to make it funnier?
Getting out of the shower, looking at myself in the mirror, starting to speak in Russian to the mirror, and having my reflection respond to me in Greek.
75. What would be the funniest yet persuasive slogan to promote your website and attract new visitors?
“Find out what you shouldn’t and don’t care about.”
76. Imagine if your childhood toys came to life. Who would be the leader of this toy rebellion, and what demands would they have?
My two 1980s robots that are not related to any TV series or movie. They would demand to save the universe fewer times a week to enjoy a really cold Coca-Cola.
77. Why 77 questions?
77 is my favorite number. Additionally, the year 1977 or ’77 is the year of the Punk explosion worldwide. It’s the year when this genre, so to speak, was born and began to gain followers around the world.