By Alexandra Paucescu
To all of us, living the diplomatic life along with our families, every country of residence will leave a permanent mark on us. Every city we called home for a while will be forever in our hearts and memory.
To Adriana Méndez Murguía, all these cities were also inspiration for her latest author collection of paintings, called ‘Cities around us’. Your heart will for sure exalt seeing at least one of them.
Since she left her hometown, Mexico City, she lived with her diplomat husband in eight countries around the world and, as she tells me, all the countries where she has lived are close to her heart. She says: ‘I adopt every country as my own. I love its culture, food and people. Every time I leave a country, I feel I leave a part of my heart, too. It is always painful to say goodbye to what you had there: your home, your friends, your memories, your daily life… but I can honestly say that Spain feels closer to my heart, since my daughter decided to spend her college years there. Spain and Mexico are very similar in many ways, so I feel Spain is like home. I love its culture, history, food, and its warm and friendly people.’
This beautiful lady, with dark sparkling eyes and a big, warm smile studied Architecture in Mexico and completed several professional projects home and abroad. As she started moving along with her family, she later took undergraduate courses in abstract painting at the Corcoran Institute of Art and Art History at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C, monotype lessons in Mexico City and engraving in Madrid, at the Jose Rincón atelier. While in Portugal, she learned tile painting in Washington DC she learned the technique of stained glass. Art has always been a passion and an integral part of her life. So, it is only natural that she gradually developed and perfected her artistic nature and talent.
She tells me candidly: ‘I have always loved painting in all techniques, as watercolor, acrylics and oil and I have made several exhibitions over the past years. I consider it a way of life and a profession, as a visual artist. My present exhibition is a dream come true. I feel much honored to have been invited to show my art. ‘Cities around Us’ is my tenth exhibition, after a few others in Mexico, Bulgaria and Spain.’
Her nomadic life offered the perfect ground for her art, which was certainly enriched by all the traveling. Getting to know deep down countries like Portugal, the United States of America, Spain, Norway, Chile, Peru, Turkey or Thailand, with their different religions and culture, inspired her to create beauty and to express her feelings through art.
She confesses that she gladly embraced the diplomatic life and her position now, as wife of an ambassador, by acknowledging her role into the diplomatic puzzle and trying to make the best out of it.
‘We all represent our countries. We organize events, entertain people, prepare lectures, have cultural activities, do charity work and support our spouses in many ways. Many times, we put aside our own personal interests and activities. I feel that being a diplomatic spouse is an important and complex job, which should be recognized and much more appreciated.
Representing Mexico, talking about its art, rich culture and gastronomy, inviting people to discover more about my beautiful country is something that I really embrace and I am proud of’.
But, above all her work and activities, she says that being a mother and raising her daughter in this complex world is her most important profession in life. No mother could argue against that…
While she thinks that being in a host country demands diplomatic skills and a flawless behavior at all times, she also says that life is to be lived to the fullest.
She tries to make the best of every moment. And then she paints it all in bright colors. Her paintings are like an invitation to discover the world, to discover the cities around us.
About the author:
Alexandra Paucescu- Author of “Just a Diplomatic Spouse” Romanian, management graduate with a Master in business, cultural diplomacy and international relations studies.
She speaks Romanian, English, French, German and Italian, gives lectures on intercultural communication and is an active NGO volunteer.
