Tajzio
Huaraz, Peru
39, Marketing
“I would like very much a world where people from all places consider themselves belonging to all places and achieve this kind of goal through culture.”
Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian Writer
The Roads We Take
“It was easy because I was living in New Zealand, and it was just my ex who wanted to come to Australia to study, and I came with her... I said, Why not?... I just wanted to try a different experience. It's gonna be only one year. It's not going to be more than that.”
“Like the butterfly effect, everything influences.”
“I think most people get the same path. For some people, Australia was the first option, but in my case, before Australia, I lived in three different countries, and I could compare those three countries... I decided to stay in Australia, maybe because the system works. The landscapes are stunning, the culture is very respectful. The opportunities that I have here in my field are very good. Personally, I have found that everything was building up to this moment.”
Faces of Australia
“I thought it would be very similar to New Zealand because I was living there and it's close... For me, it was like coming to a very similar country, and it is similar in some ways, but Australia is more dynamic... I had the kind of empty mind about the country.”
“Well, it is a working society. I’d say Australian people are very respectful, very mindful and fair. Maybe it’s because I have experience with good people, but society, the culture in general, is quite laid back as well.”
“What I’ve been learning about the Aboriginal culture is that you cannot really feel it as much as in New Zealand. In New Zealand, you see people very proud and it’s very open, but here it wasn’t that prominent. And back when I was living on a continent, I never thought that Australia had this original background there. I think they need to have more political participation, they need to have a voice.”
“All the people that I met were great people, and I would say that most of them are very respectful. They don't make jokes, which, honestly, for people from my culture is completely normal. Everybody laughs at everyone. That's one of the biggest contrasts in my personal experience. In my country everybody knows it's a joke, everybody takes it as a joke. But in Australia, if you do that, you might be hurting someone's feelings.”
Building Connections
“No, even at the beginning, not having friends. You have your community, you have your Spanish community, and you have your friends that you meet through the world and study. You start building relationships.
Maybe the first month. Kind of not hectic, but, let's say, lonely. But you blend with the experience that you're having. Because you're travelling, you're getting to do new things, you're going to new places, and you are not thinking about friends as much because you are busy doing more stuff. But I think once you settle, it's like a transition - things accommodate themselves organically.
It depends on the person as well. I'm not an extrovert person, and, for me, a few friends are fine. That's more than enough for me.”
What It Means to Belong
“There is this writer, a Peruvian writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2011. He's actually from my school. He started writing erotic novels back in my school and selling them to his classmates. He also lived in different countries, he lived in France, in Spain and he's the only foreign person that has a spot in the French Language Academy. So, he's a very well-recognized person. He once thought about his feelings because he lived in Peru, but his work and his life made him or allowed him to live in different countries. He worked from different places as a writer and made this comment about not feeling 100% Peruvian but at the same time not feeling 100% Spanish, and not feeling 100% French.
He said that the thing that happens to people who live in different countries is that they feel that they don't belong anywhere. He said that when he goes to Peru, he feels like he's not Peruvian. When he's living in Spain, he's feeling that he's not Spanish. When he lived in France, he always felt that he was foreign in all the countries he was living in.
And I think that's a very interesting way of seeing how you see yourself or how you feel moving back. I would probably have the exact same thing if I went to Peru. I'm Peruvian and everywhere I go I say that I'm Peruvian for fun, but I also feel like a foreigner sometimes when I'm there. Of course, here I feel that I'm a foreigner and when I lived in New Zealand as well, and when I lived in Spain. It's like having this battle. It’s not positive or negative, it's just a feeling, it's not a handicap. It's just there.”
“Of course, it needs to be a decision. And it’s not just about the papers. I think it’s more about how you feel and how you connect with everything. I lived in Spain for three years, and it was kind of the same. I think it's just about people. It's not much about the image. It's about people and how you feel. If you feel that you are reaching your goals, if you feel that you are realised, if you are envisioning yourself in the place that you want to be, I think it balances it out.”
“You belong where you feel comfortable. It depends on how people see things as well. You can be very comfortable living in one place, but this place may not be perfect. It has its problems, it has rules. Then the other place also has its problems, it has maybe different rules.
It’s about how you feel internally, and I think it's reassessed at a personal level.”
In Between Cultures
“I think the language doesn't play much. I mean, if you know English, even speaking is dependent on your accent. I once met a guy. A few years ago I went out with my friend, who came to visit. At the time, I was living in Paddington, and we went out for a drink. When we were in a pub, I started talking to a guy there. He asked me "Where you from? How long have you been here?" I said I've been here for six years. "Oh, man, that accent is not going.
I'm not even trying. Because I think it's part of me. I'm not going to pretend to forget my past and try to blend with society.”
“I think my accent is a plus, rather than something to be ashamed of. For me, if someone has an accent they have more skills than someone who only speaks one language.
“I would say, I am a Peruvian. I always say I am a Peruvian living in Australia.”
“If I go to Asia, I say that I'm a Peruvian from South America rather than say that I live in Australia. Probably I'm less likely to be scammed and have different prices.”
“I have a sauce that is Peruvian. I eat a part of Peru every day... That's what connects me to my country. I mean food. My country is very proud of it. The funny thing is that this is the exact same sauce I eat in my country. The exact same thing.”
“I hate politics [in Peru]. It's frustrating. That's the word... That's what frustrates me about my country. The culture is amazing. People are amazing and welcoming. They always laugh about everything, even the worst moments. They always find something to be amused about. Even though the economy isn't great, people manage to still do things, travel, and buy things. The food is amazing, the landscapes, places, everything is great. Just the politics are so corrupt. It's not something that happens just in my country. It happens across South America. That's the only thing that, if we fix it, it will be a better place for sure.”
Art as a Bridge
“You have different art expressions that can signify many things, but when someone is very distinct and pure, and focuses on the style, on the colours that they use, on the shapes that form in every artwork. For example, the Aboriginal art that they have here, those very distinct colours of dark red in different shades and the shape of the dots, representing kind of mandalas, that's from a very particular community and land. That's definitely connected to the society. That connection may work between cultures through regional art.”
“Here in Australia we have a lot of different cultures from Asia, South America, and Europe, and all those influences might not be straightforward. Might not have a straightforward change, but in the next generations, I think that visual artists and creators will start having a blend of all these styles and a conversion about the real Australian style.”
“I think society mirrors culture. Culture could be created based on a meme someone made, and it becomes a part of society. Like creating a new word that comes from social media posts and is generally adopted. I think culture influences society instead of society influencing culture.”
“It depends on how it is adopted and how influential it is. For example, the Aboriginal culture was in a massive lead-up. I don't know why, maybe because of the lack of communication, maybe because of the lack of information. Sharing is a very powerful tool.”
“I think if you don't give these cultural expressions enough window, enough exposure, they won't succeed because they won't be shared with the mainstream society.”
Through Their Eyes
“I have the sauce that is Peruvian. I eat part of Peru every day. I have a piece of Peru on every meal.
I also have the small llamas around. I have those little portraits. They are kind of subtle but at the same time, they are cute, because they are not ordinary. It’s not like a big thing, but they are positioned in places that are exclusive to them. And it doesn’t matter if they are tiny, they stand out because it’s the only thing that’s there.”
“So that’s something that I really like and feel very connected with my team... It’s something that goes beyond because you need to prepare the boat, you need to be there in advance. And also, this particular sport is not an individual sport like tennis or any other sport. Everyone needs to be synchronised in order to make things work.
The second picture was painted when I was living on the Central Coast. This is the connection with real Australian culture. Because before COVID I always lived in Sydney, I always met people that were coming from overseas and exposed myself to a mix of people. But living there, I was living with only Australian people, just Australian people, in this very secluded spot, a beautiful spot. And I think that was the most Australian experience I ever had.”
