We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Tinajero. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

It has been a very long road full of difficulties. For several years I had a small business, an academy, where I helped children and adolescents who had learning problems or needed help with their homework. After the pandemic I had to close the academy forever. Two years later, thanks to the support of a colleague who is a tourist guide, I finally managed to earn a living with a full-time job and sharing my passion: History. I am finishing a PhD in the History of Women between the 15th and 17th centuries, and I can share all the knowledge I have acquired by researching archives with tourists who want to get to know my city. It was like this from the first day because Seville is a tremendously touristy city and people from all over the world come to visit and learn about our History and our Art. The main step was getting used to explaining everything in English, something that scared me at first, but little by little with effort everything is achieved. I don’t think I could have sped up the process because if my tours are what they are, it’s because I went through hard times that made me learn to get back up stronger every time I failed.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I became a tour guide due to the closure of my small school academy, but also because I needed to share my knowledge about the past with people really interested in History. I offer historical tours through the city of Seville: highlights and hidden gems tours, Women History tours, the Royal Alcazar, the Cathedral, Plaza de España…, and everything that visitors need to see and know about my city. The difference between my tours and those of other guides is that I take my research in the archive to the street, I incorporate it into the information that is usually explained about the most important places in the city, therefore my tours are full of data totally unpublished that are part of my doctoral thesis. What makes me most proud of my service is the fact of making a difference in terms of historical rigor, new research and contributions that I myself have found by diving into the city’s historical archives. In addition to the fact that I experience each tour intensely as if it were the first time, I am excited to see the reaction of tourists when they see the main monuments of my city, I experience that enthusiasm at the same time as they do. My city is a History book in every street, every square and every building. Thanks to the multitude of cultures and civilizations that populated it, it is a true privilege to be able to contribute to the discovery of its History and guide travelers on this adventure.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My job for me is extremely creative because I don’t like doing the same tour over and over again, but rather I love adapting my tour to the client, customizing the traveler’s experience as much as possible and putting intuition into motion. That was something I learned as a teacher: the plan is not to have a plan but to observe the student, how they feel that day, and then start working. I do the same thing in the first few minutes of a tour while introducing myself and talking to clients a bit. It is taught from the state of mind of the student and not from that of the teacher. I think the same thing with tours: a city is shown from the expectations of the tourist and not from those of the guide. To reach this conclusion it has been 23 long years as a teacher, as an educational guide, to be able to put into practice everything learned again but this time as a tourist guide. And it’s not a bed of roses, getting here has been stressful, overwhelming, sad at times…, but extremely rewarding.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am very active on social networks, but that started before I became a tour guide, in 2013 when I started writing novels. I have always been myself on social networks, I do not believe in the personal brand as something external to the person. Be yourself, share your good days but also the bad ones so that the people who follow you can empathize with you. People are tired of falsehood and always perfect people on social networks. On my networks I shared about my novels, then about my research in the archive and now also about my tours because all of that is me. Also my opinions on current affairs, my complaints about the problems of my community… I am simply me, with my flaws and my virtues. I am also me with my flaws and my virtues as a novelist, researcher, teacher and tourist guide. I don’t like giving advice, but being yourself always works.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lauratinajero_
• Twitter: Laura_Tinajero

Image Credits

Laura Tinajero