My name is Icela Guernica, I am 25 years old and currently living in Madrid, Spain as an auxiliar Language Assistant at IES Maximo Trueba. 

 

I was born on July 9th, 1993 in Miami, Florida to my Cuban-American parents, Ada Escauriza and Eduardo Guernica. I have an older brother named Eddie Albert and a younger brother named Elvis, and we have lived in the same house in Miami Lakes for basically all our lives. Due to our heritage, I enjoyed being raised in a bilingual household, where both English and Spanish were spoken on a daily basis (Sometimes interchangeably!). Miami is an interesting place to live as 90% of the population is of Hispanic or Latino descent, so when it came time to move to a Spanish speaking country it wasn't as much of a culture shock.

 

I went to public school up until the 6th grade (11-12 yrs old) at which point I then transferred to private school for the remainder of my secondary education. I graduated with my high school diploma in 2011 from Dade Christian School and started that following fall attending college at New World School of the Arts, in pursuit of a Bachelor of Fine arts in Musical Theatre. I graduated in 2015 with the support of my incredible family, friends, and professors, and have since worked as an actor in film, television, and theatre. I have also worked as a private vocal coach for about 6 years teaching basic music theory, vocal technique, and breath support.  

 

Living and teaching in Spain has proven to be a remarkable experience as I have been able to learn not only about this incredible culture, but also about the culture of my homeland, the United States, from a foreign perspective. The importance of perspective is really the thing that I have learned most of this year and have tried to bring in to my classes as I teach the next generation of leaders. I look forward to a second year of growth, travel, and TAPAS!