People from many different countries live, study and work in Eindhoven. Every week, E52 has a talk with an international about what brought them here and what life is like in Eindhoven.
Name: Quetzi Navarro
Country of origin: Mexico
Work: Photographer at High Tech XL
What do you get when you put two photographers together at a table? They talk shop. Quetzi, our interviewee of today and Diewke, photographer of this series, immediately start talking about the equipment they work with, light and all kinds of interesting Facebook groups. Quetzi: “I studied Communication in Mexico and always wanted to do more with photography. Nowadays I’m part of the creative and media team of High Tech XL. And besides this more corporate work, I also work on my personal portfolio photographing concerts and more editorial pictures.”
Before Quetzi moved to the Netherlands, she and her boyfriend lived in England. He finished his Masters there and she did a documentary course at The London Film School. “It was the ideal opportunity for me to learn English and get to know the European way of life. When my visa expired I had to go back to Mexico. For a while, we had a long distance relationship, but luckily we got reunited in the Netherlands. My boyfriend got a job at ASML and I can live here on a partner visa. We arrived in the summertime and we had a lot of fun. I had an agreement with my boyfriend: I would get a job within three months. And I did! I found a job at the office of a clothing brand in Breda.”
“Eindhoven still needs one thing: a good Mexican restaurant. My dream is to open one”Quetzi Navarro, Photographer
Going from the happy laidback summer days to long work days including commuting and cold weather in fall and winter, wasn’t always easy for Quetzi: “It was quite a reality check. But during those days I also made some wonderful friends at work. Girls that also live in Eindhoven. They are still my best friends now. At that time I missed my home in Mexico very much, but my friends got me through it. My family always says I have ‘mamitis’, a real mama’s girl. She thought I would never leave home. But here I am, on the other side of the world. I have no intention to go back very soon. Last year we bought a house, so we are really settled in Eindhoven.”
“I really like this city. There are a lot of internationals here, with a lot of Mexican people. I’m from Guadalajara, a city of millions and in England, we lived in a small town close to London. Eindhoven is really different to what I was used to, but I’m having fun here. I have a cinema card so I see a lot of movies, I love making fashion photo’s with friends and walking our dog. My two favourite restaurants are Haru for the ramen soup and Mount Everest. My boyfriend likes spicy food and at this place they are very good at it. My boyfriend and I have an inside joke about the popularity of restaurant Meneer de Boer. When they just opened we went there every Sunday. We always say we made that place so popular,” Quetzi says with a big laugh. “Eindhoven still needs one thing: a good Mexican restaurant. My dream is to open one here with a gallery where you can buy Mexican art and the most important real and good Mexican food. I already have a name: Taqueria La Chula, I just need the money.”
Read all the internationals stories here.
Photography: Diewke van den Heuvel
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