“I grew up playing in punk rock bands and skateboarding in Bogota Colombia, and what I found was a lot of like-minded people that were against the grain. Little did I know that this ‘do it yourself’ mentality and overall brotherhood was going to shape the way that I envisioned kitchens and how I did things for myself and my family. I’ve always taken the punk-rock approach to everything in my life, seeing things in different ways, and I think that’s helped me get to the point where I find myself comfortably using my own voice as a tool instead of being ashamed of it.

Before covid hit, I was working on building someone else’s ideas, but the pandemic gave me the strength and the chance to reinvent myself and take matters into my own hands to build something for myself; I started a dumpling company from the living room of my small apartment. With the last 200 dollars I had in my wallet I decided to buy equipment and ingredients to begin cranking things out from my house, and that’s how Zitxum was born – something that I’ve dreamt about forever and finally have been able to do thanks to the support of my wife and kids.

Nowadays I’m working alongside my wife in building a restaurant from scratch, at our own pace; being able to help the people who helped us get to where we are today and hiring old staff we once had, building a team that has the same goals and mentality, and it’s something that I’m really proud of.”