We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniela Varela and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniela, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
This is a tough one. I am – and will always be- Uruguayan by birth. I was born in Montevideo, the capital city, where the majority of the country lives, and that means only 1.5 million people. My family brought up a curious, healthy, funny girl that, little by little, realized that not belonging was not the curse she first thought it was, but actually, the best way to stand out. My parents raised me for the world. They invested in my education, they knew that was the only thing they would equip me with. And they encouraged me to fly high, even if it meant to fly away from home, and I will be always grateful for that. So, I guess being from a small country yet being a bit out of the norm, made me uncomfortable and pushed me to seek belonging somewhere else. That became easy knowing your family has your back. Hence, I started looking for my place in the world: I moved to Asia, first to Vietnam and later to Singapore. I did my Masters in Sweden. I worked a bit in Spain. I went back home for a while, and made the big leap by coming to the US back in 2018. That was challenging but also one of the best decisions I ever made. So yes, I am from Uruguay, but I am also a little bit Vietnamese, Singaporean, Swede, Catalana and Brooklynite. It is funny – I was looking a place where to belong, and I ended up making every single place I step a foot in, a little nook where to foster some kind of home. What a blessing!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Pursuing a create life was something that happened naturally. I am a people person: I get easily moved by little things, I cry often and I laugh even more. People who know me can tell you how much they tease me, since tears are always ready and served daily with me. So I guess some sort of artistic expression was always on the table, since that is the way to portray, communicate and celebrate human emotions. In Spanish, the verb to create and to believe have the same root (yo creo). I have a tattoo that says this. I created my own path regardless of where I was born, my mother tongue or my citizenship.I believe that creativity is that leap of faith that propels life forward, regardless of the result. It’s a force that moves you from point A to B. It’s available to everyone who dares to face the anxiety and fear of the unknown; who is willing to embrace frustration and failure and do this again and again, basically, to transform pain or trauma into growth. That’s the alchemy of creativity – it’s boiled during uncomfortable times, it grows from facing differences, and thrives in challenges.

The main problem when I was in highschool or when choosing a career was the fact that I didn’t know what to choose since I loved everything: I wanted to be a chef, I wanted to travel, I loved photography, I wanted to do all-things creative and all-things human. I wanted to tell stories and be a screenwriter but I didn’t want to starve either so I guess that communications and advertising became a sweet middle ground where to play and achieve all the things I loved. In retrospective, I think it was a good move. Advertising gave the chance to travel the world, eat delicious food, meet incredibly interesting and talented people and inspired me to create brands and products that help the communities around me.

People will define me as a creative director, but that is not what I am. That is just one of the many things I do. Hence, I prefer to say I master the craft of writing and I am an apprentice of the art of hustling with joy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the New York area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Avoid the tourist traps. Come straight to Brooklyn. Take the ferry instead of the subway. Visit Union Pool on a Monday night and enjoy a good set of soulful, dirty gospel. Have an original NYC cuppa in Sweetleaf or Eleva in Greenpoint and go for a HellBoy slice in Paulie’s Gee. Stroll until the Williamsburg bridge and cross over. Embrace the unique skyline views of the City. Once in Manhattan, check out The Back Room in LES. Get lost in Chinatown and get your aura read by Ivy. Wrap it up in a beautiful rooftop, the Public Hotel one hardly misses the mark.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m so blessed to have so many people in my corner. Mamá y Papá, noblesse oblige, without whom I wouldn’t be where I am. Angelica Hellgren, who pushed me to write as much as possible, fostering my own safe space and tone of voice. All my creative partners throughout my career: Carolina Gelfont, Michel Donatte, Pasu Olivera, Larissa Vaz and Barbara Eibel. Each and every one of them taught me how to become a better professional. Last but not least, the fierce female mentors that set the example and the awesome high bar, inspiring me every single day: Nicole Marold, Lisa Savage, Amy Kunrojpanya.

Special recognition to my Nonos for the unconditional love and Joseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand Faces, the book that acts as a compass and framework to my life.

Website: https://danielavarela.com/

Instagram: @donnatts

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danivarela/

Other: Personal Projects: Bites & KMS – https://bites-kms.tumblr.com/ Comiéndome al Mundo – https://www.comiendomealmundo.com/

Image Credits
https://kolektiview.com/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.